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The PG Era Rant: Raw, 12.01.14

The PG Era Rant for Raw, December 1, 2014.

Your Pre-Show information:

  • The “anonymous Raw General Manager” of 2010 is in charge.
  • A Tag Team Turmoil: New Day, Rose/Bunny, Rhodes Brothers, Usos, Cesaro/Kidd.
  • Added to TLC: Ryback/Kane, “Chairs”

Live from Tulsa, OK.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, JBL, and Jerry Lawler.

A look back at last week's breather episode and main event.


And we open with an email. And He Quotes: he's back. He's the perfect person for what the WWE needs right now. You can't trust washed-up Superstars, so instead we...

...you know what, John Cena finally proves to be the lesser of two evils as he comes out to interrupt. Even JBL is happy at this development. John, why are you wearing pink after October? Cena says he loves nothing about Mr. 4chan over there – but he's just like Brock Lesnar, never showing up. But Cena's here, the fans are here, and the Authority isn't here tonight. He recaps the Survivor Series main event as he does, and says they proved what being a WWE Superstar means. So why did everyone risk everything? Well...

...anyway, Anonyswoggle interrupts, so Cena tells Cole to step aside and closes the laptop.

But if you thought the interruptions were done, here comes Seth Rollins with security instead. Rollins wants to give Cena a hand for being ultra-talented at so many things: bad jokes, waving his hand in front of his face, getting half the crowd to hate him... (that last one actually prompts a You Sold Out chant instead of the dueling Cena chants). But he's really great at taking credit from others. Cena didn't win at Survivor Series – in fact, Rollins eliminated Cena. And he would've won it all if Sting didn't step in.

Cena counters: it wasn't Sting, it was Dolph Ziggler. Cena isn't taking credit; he's going to give credit to Ziggler for kicking the Authority out. Rollins changes the subject to: is WWE better off now? (Crowd: YES!) All that hard work the Cena team did and now 4chan is in charge? Who's next, JBL? (Crowd wouldn't mind that.) How about Batista? (Crowd's less than enthused.) What's Eric Bischoff doing? (Crowd's torn.) The point is: the WWE has become a guessing game where your effort from one week disappears the next. Cena tells him to get to the point, and it's this: Cena says it's the fans' show, but what's best for everyone is what's Best For Business™. So before the show falls apart, Cena has to put HHH back in charge.

Cena doesn't like being ordered around and says Rollins' trump card (the Authority) is gone, and they ain't coming back. It used to be that Rollins could do whatever he wants, but now he's just a guy with a golden briefcase who has to prove it. So Rollins has to ask him. Nicely.

Cena tries to stampede the email tone, but instead it's announced that Cena/Rollins will be a Table match at TLC – with the stipulation that if Cena loses, his match with Lesnar will be pulled. Cena turns around in disgust, Rollins jumps him from behind, and out comes Kane to chokeslam Cena down. Rollins brings out the table, but this brings out Ryback to make the save and clean house. Kane stops him with a chair, but now Erick Rowan is next into the ring. What is this, the Royal Rumble? Rowan boots Kane down and turns the tide, but now Big Show enters to stop that. Show kicks Rowan out of the ring and picks up the steps, ramming them into Rowan's face. Dolph Ziggler is next out, leveraging Show into the post and grabbing a ladder. But Luke Harper appears and smashes Ziggler with the ladder repeatedly. Meanwhile, in the ring, Rollins sets the table up as Cena is being held by J&J. Cena escapes, though, and gets Rollins, but Harper intercepts and Show knocks Cena out. Noble, Mercury, and Rollins then Shieldbomb Cena through the table.

Took too long to get there, but the increasingly loony brawl was just fine. It also seems to tease Ziggler/Harper as the ladder match. So that's T, L, C, and TLC covered.

Medical personnel are helping everyone up and to the back as we find out about two matches for later: Rowan v. Show and Harper/Kane/Rollins v. Cena/Ryback/Ziggler.

But before the next match begins, let's take another commercial. Seriously, Vince?

TAG TEAM TURMOIL!

Team 1: Goldust and Stardust
Team 2: The New Day

It's going to be Kofi and Langston. Kofi and Stardust start, and Kofi comes out with a dropkick. Stardust with a forearm and monkey flip, but Kofi lands on his feet and dropkicks Stardust. Goldust in and he doesn't do much better. Stinger Splash by Kofi into a lariat by Langston for two. Goldust clips Langston, and Stardust rakes the back. Sliding kick by Stardust, but Kofi tags himself in and it's a Big Ending DDT combo to win at 1:37. The move is called the Midnight Hour.

Team 3: Cesaro and Tyson Kidd

But first, a commercial break. This is getting annoying.

Tag Team Turmoil, continued. We return with Kofi getting gutwrenched by Cesaro. Kidd in, and Kofi gets kicked hard. Kidd chokes out Kofi on the bottom rope, then it's a snapmare and chinlock. Kidd switches to a slam and jogs around to celebrate, but Kofi with a rana out of nowhere, hot tag Langston. Greco-Roman throw to Kidd, then an Ultimate Splash. Cesaro stops the Big Ending, both heels are on the apron and get bowled off by Langston, and Kofi is alley-ooped onto both men. Back in, Springboard clothesline, but the Dusts attack Woods and Kidd gets a cradle with tights for the pin at 8:12. Really?

Team 4: The Usos

Jimmy goes after Cesaro off the bell, but he runs into an overhead suplex. Jimmy dodges a charge and floors Cesaro, following up with a Rikishi hip check for two. Jey in with an axhandle to the arm, but Cesaro takes over and Kidd enters by choking away. They muck up an Irish Whip, and in the chaos, Cesaro tags himself in and gets a Northern Lariat. German suplex by Cesaro for two as we go to another break.

It should be noted that Jey wanted to dive onto Kidd, but Kidd (off-camera) threw Natalya in the way to stop him, which is what allowed Cesaro to get the lariat. It should also be noted this is another commercial break.

Tag Team Turmoil, continued, again. Cesaro to the chinlock as we've had more ad time than match time during this match as of right now. Jey tries to fight out, but Cesaro catches him with a powerbomb for two. Jey tosses Cesaro, but Kidd comes in with a lariat that hurts himself and leads to the hot tag to Jimmy. Uppercut and elevated Samoan Drop by Jimmy leads to a two-count, Cesaro saves. Jey and Cesaro leave via Cactus clothesline, but Natalya holds Kidd from Jimmy. Apron kick by Kidd, but Code Blue runs into a superkick. Jey with the Superfly Splash for the elimination at 16:14. JBL says they're the #1 contenders, but there's one more...

Team 5: Adam Rose and The Bunny

Rose sends the Express to the back as he starts, but Jey cuts him off with a cradle for two. Rose cuts off a blind charge and gets elbows and a spinebuster for two (as Naomi is watching backstage, being Jimmy's wife and all). Bunny tags himself in as it's BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA! Rose and Bunny argue, so Jimmy shoves them into each other and tries a superplex on Bunny. Bunny stops that and gets a sunset flip bomb for two. Rose tags himself in now, and Bunny seems to have finally had it. Rose bullies him away, allowing the superkick and big splash on Rose for the finish at 19:11. Too much ad time. *3/4 Meanwhile, Miz and Sandow say they're looking forward to seeing Naomi in the ring. Oh, and they love the way she twerks. He tries to hook her up with a producer.

Vince McMahon is here!

Is this show even trying? I mean, one match in the first hour, much of which is during commercials? Ugh. This is not what I want in my Raw.

Slammy Awards next week, hosted by Seth Green. (Hey, that could work – he did well last time he hosted.)

Mr. Phillips interviews Erick Rowan. He doesn't regret targeting Big Show. It turns out Rowan is a Mensa person, a guitarist, and a vintner. But why target Big Show? “He's a bully.” And he completed a Rubik's Cube during the interview.

Big Show is out next and says, yes, he IS a bully. Because he can. He has to be – everyone betrays him. He says the fans sold out on him. He doesn't care about earning respect, just about hurting people. He's ready to show what a mean, nasty giant he is.

Big Show v. Erick Rowan. It's a massive war to start, as Rowan punches down Big Show and gets him to bail. The chase is on, but Rowan runs into a clothesline back in the ring. Show works the arm, then just strikes Rowan down. He casually kicks away at Rowan, keeping him down. The kicks and taunts continue, snuffing out a Rowan comeback and CLUBBERIN, THEY BE CLUBBERIN TONY. Show chokes Rowan down and gets a short-arm lariat. Cobra clutch is applied as JBL keeps trying to get “Big Red” over as a nickname for Rowan. Rowan fights out and floors Show with tackles and an avalanche. He sends Show to the floor with a clothesline and follows on the outside, but Show sends Rowan into the steps. Show grabs the stairs and uses them for the DQ at 4:19. That was just boring. DUD

Vince almost says something to the Exotic Express before Renee Young interviews him. He's happy, because he'll be on the WWE Network podcast with Steve Austin. He reminds us that only John Cena can bring the Authority back. But he's more concerned about the podcast.

So, on the WWE App, will it be Natalya, Naomi, or Alicia teaming with AJ Lee against the Bellas?

Interesting note: they were hyping the six-man tag for later, but the graphic replaced Harper and Ziggler with Show and Rowan – which Lawler didn't notice, as he was giving the original lineup. As always, this means Kevin Dunn needs to be fired.

Fandango v. Jack Swagger. Wait a minute, Swagger doesn't enter. It turns out Zeb Colter was ambushed and someone messed up his leg. So Swagger forfeits the match via no-show, since he's busy checking on Colter. Now Rusev and Lana are headed to the ring as Fandango and Rosa celebrate outside.

So clearly, after that exciting segment, we need another commercial break.

Lana has the mic and tells us to shut up with the USA chant already. She's furious about how Rusev was ordered to take the Pledge – some freedom country this is! But Rusev bravely refused and was punished with the Battle Royal on SmackDown. But he won that, because everyone failed. Rusev then takes the mic and says he crushes the challengers... and those who don't listen, more or less claiming responsibility for injuring Colter. Rusev and Lana then pledge allegiance to the Russian flag.

And now Swagger, who clearly heard Rusev's confession, storms the ring and takes it to Rusev right away. Rusev wins a slugfest, but both men go tumbling out of the ropes and Rusev eats barricade over and over. Seventy million refs try to keep them apart, but it ain't working. Rusev finally escapes and heads to the back as Swagger is so furious he's practically in tears.

In the SmackDown thread, there was a long discussion about how Rusev is booked as a face against Show and Henry, but is booed just for being foreign. I noticed that too, but I also wish to point out that in both iterations against Swagger, Rusev is more clearly the heel: he attacks first, he keeps up the fight after the bell, and now he's beaten up Colter. I truly believe this shows Dutch Mantell understands wrestling and has a hand in his own angles, which as the driver of the Swagger Wagon I truly approve of.

Damien Mizdow v. Epico El Matador. During the Pre-Show, El Torito interrupted an interview with Miz, so we get this match. Epico with a snapmare and crucifix for one, but Mizdow gets a single-leg for one. Epico's blind charges hits elbow, but Epico with a rana and dropkick for one. He works the arm as Miz talks about Naomi's talent on commentary. Mizdow headbutts out, getting a backslide for two. Epico with a leaping clothesline for two. Back to the armbar. Blind charge by Epico misses and Mizdow gets the comeback with the Million Dollar Neckbreaker. Epico escapes a full nelson and gets a sunset flip try, but Mizdow reverses to the Figure Four for the submission at 2:24. I have nothing wrong with this match. 3/4* Jimmy Uso comes out and slaps Miz upside the head for the bit with Naomi earlier.

For those who pay attention to that sort of thing, like me, the six-man tag graphic has been changed back to what everyone said it would be throughout the show.

Jimmy Uso and The Miz will be your Main Event main event.

R-Truth v. Bray Wyatt. Truth loses a slugfest to Wyatt, who headbutts him down. Wyatt chops away, then gets a Hammer Throw and rebound clothesline. Wyatt demands Dean Ambrose come out during the match, but he has to go back to beating up Truth with another Hammer Throw. Wyatt with a cravat on Truth as he screams about how Dean doesn't want this. He switches up to a slam, but the running senton misses. Truth with a leg lariat to take over, and the Lie Detector connects. Axe kick misses, and Bray with a standing uranage. To the apron, and Bray clubs Truth down onto it. Back in, he taunts Truth and does the INVERTED LOOK OF DOOM into a crabwalk. Sister Abigail's Kiss ends it at 4:23. Truth getting in offense was not smart, but this was more or less a squash. 1/4* Bray decides to prove a point by tossing chairs into the ring (Truth has been aided to the back) and screams for Ambrose to show up. A ladder comes out next, and he looks for more as we go to break.

Let's hope this leads to something good.

We return with Bray Wyatt telling us the Bible story of Jacob's Ladder. In the story, God was atop the ladder, telling Jacob how to bring Israel to Paradise. But, Bray Wyatt has his own Ladder – he ascends it and laughs at the creatures God has created. He sees all creatures as insects, just like Dean Ambrose. He sees the tables, ladders, and chairs (Crowd: Oh my!).

Before he can continue, Dean Ambrose interrupts. He yanks Bray out of the ring and the fight is on. After a while, Bray gets the edge, but Ambrose bounces off the barricade and slams Wyatt into the announce table. Ambrose headbutts Bray into a gooey paste and gets another ladder. The usual suspects try to stop Ambrose, but they just succeed in stalling him long enough for Bray to escape the table. So Ambrose runs the tables after him. He brawls Bray all the way to the aisle, where officials finally get between them as Bray gets some space. Ambrose wrecks Bray's rocking chair to a big ovation as Bray, for the first time in his career, seems emotionally hurt.

Now, this is kind of interesting: all this time, we've seen Bray Wyatt as a symbol for a cause or as a demon in a human's clothing. Right here, we see him finally as a human beneath the cause. And it's clear whatever happened hurt deeply. If it's personal on both sides, it could make the brawl more intense.

Nikki Bella and Brie Bella v. AJ Lee and Naomi (48%). AJ is knocked off the apron, so Nikki starts with Naomi with a suplex for one. She dropkicks the knee and gets a facebuster, then adds a boot choke. Brie in, and she connects with the running knee for two. Brie with a running uppercut, and Nikki's in to get a two-count. Crowd chants for you know who as Nikki gets a chinlock. Crowd then FINALLY chants for AJ herself as Naomi bridges out, only to get yanked down by the hair. Naomi flips out of a suplex, hot tag AJ. Nikki with a Stinger Splash and neckbreaker, and Brie is sent flying. Tornado DDT by AJ gets two, Brie saves. Naomi dropkicks Nikki, but Brie dumps Naomi. AJ dumps Brie, and the Shining Wizard hits Nikki. Black Widow ends it at 3:25. Perfectly Acceptable Wrestling. * Nikki doesn't want Brie's sympathy as they leave.

Santa Foley shills WWEShop with Noelle dressed as an elf.

I noticed in the SmackDown recap that when AJ charged the ring, Nikki basically told Brie to handle it. The dynamic is still there on Nikki's side, which makes me think the long con may be on. It would make a better ending than what we have now.

SmackDown will feature Rusev facing Dean Ambrose in a non-title match.

Ladies and gentlemen, the man joining you via satellite's name is Paul Heyman. First, he laughs at Cena's comment on Brock's absenteeism and says Brock is too special to be around all the time. Brock is too can't-miss and must-see to be around all the time. Brock will beat him so badly he wishes it was SummerSlam... assuming Cena's even the #1 contender. Is it Seth Rollins? The Undertaker (if you can find him)? Sting (which is a retirement match in waiting)? Everybody at once? It's simple: Brock Lesnar IS the Authority, because he has the gold and the power. And second... uh, there is no second. That's it.

Now, see, this is where things could get interesting. I don't see anyone being the kind of person to play the mindgame, but they should point out that now, Cena won't have anyone to even the numbers the way he almost did earlier tonight. See, Rollins and Company are all out to win the match, and anyone who tries to even the odds is just helping Cena remain #1 contender... when that's a spot they themselves should want for themselves. I mean, we all know Cena's winning anyway, but at least throw that out there and see if anyone is selfless.

Main event: John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, and Ryback v. Seth Rollins, Kane, and Luke Harper. Harper and Cena start (Rollins loudly declines). Cena takes over on Harper, getting a Hammer Throw and clothesline for one. Running back elbow, and he drags Rollins in and puts the STF on him. Harper breaks (not like it would've mattered) and rakes the nose, but Cena with a belly-to-belly for two. Dolph in, and he and Cena do a double dropkick to Harper for two. Rude Awakening try is blocked, and Harper jabs the throat of Dolph before Kane comes in with an uppercut. Dolph stops the momentum and tags in Ryback as the crowd is buzzing for it. Crowd chants Feed Me More during the slugfest, which Kane seems to win before Ryback gets a Thesz Press and mat slams. “Stupid” Splash gets one. Harper tags himself in and jabs away at Ryback, adding a headbutt. Ryback reverses and kicks away in the corner, and a corner whip only leads to the Meathook for one. Ryback with a front chancery, but Harper fights out and Rollins comes in to pick up the bones. He punches away at the midsection of Ryback, and Harper comes in. But Ryback reverses and chops away, only for Harper to re-reverse. A suplex battle goes Ryback's way (eventually) as we go to break.

That was abrupt. The announcers never knew it was happening, and the feed cutting out so fast made me think the lights went out in the arena. Which means, of course, that Kevin Dunn needs to be fired. On the other hand, the crowd here is way behind Ryback, which is a good sign. Haven't heard a single ironic Goldberg chant yet.

Main event, continued. We come back with a suplex by Ryback for two. Dolph in, but Harper slugs him down and escapes to bring in Kane. He slugs Dolph down in the corner, but Dolph leaps up his back and gets a sleeper. Kane backs him into the corner to break. Dolph with a dropkick to the knee on Kane, then a Stinger Splash. Kane goes for the chokeslam, but Dolph escapes only to leap into an uppercut for two. Rollins in with a kneedrop, and Harper enters with the Gator Roll. A chest shop leads to a suplex try, but he aborts and does an uppercut for two instead. Kane in, and he gets stomps and a short lariat for two. (Of note: JBL says Ziggler is an idiot for constantly beating himself up by being out there every night just to please the fans. I wonder if that's a Punk reference.) Kane with a kneelift, and Rollins gets a Hammer Throw or two. Rollins stomps on Dolph's hand and drops elbows on the head before getting a snapmare and chinlock. He adds a bodyscissors, but Dolph blocks it and gets to his feet. Jawbreaker stops the hold, and he avoids an avalanche to make the hot tag to Cena. Comeback begins here, and Harper can't see Cena before the Shuffle. Cena AA to Harper, and he and Ryback suplex Kane together. Mercury and Noble slug out Cena, getting Rollins two as we take another break.

Current working theory: Vince's mind is fully on the podcast, but it didn't stop him from insisting on rewriting this show because he's Vince. This show looks like it was booked by someone who didn't put much thought into it.

Main event, continued, again. Kane slugs down Cena, who tries to clear the apron but walks into a Bravo Side Slam for two. Kane goes to a side headlock, but Cena pulls the arms away and gets a dropkick to Kane. Harper stops the hot tag and gets a front slam for two. He picks Cena up by the ears and slaps away, but Cena reverses a Hammer Throw and both men wind up on the wrong side of the ring. Harper with a thrust kick for two. Rollins in, and he lands a Five Knuckle Shuffle of his own. He taunts Cena repeatedly, leaving him open for a haymaker. Rollins recovers first with a clothesline and stomps away. To the chinlock as the crowd is just waiting for the hot tag. Rollins stops a power-out with a shot to the back, but the Stinger Splash airballs. Hot tag Dolph (which the ref manages to find), and he goes nuts on Harper with a Rude Awakening and giant elbow drop. Leaping DDT is stopped, but Harper eats post and gets Rocker Dropped for two, Rollins saves. EVERYBODY INTO THE POOL as Cena comes in via the top rope and bowls over the pile. AA try on Kane is reversed to a big boot, but Ryback gets an Oklahoma Slam on Kane. Flying knee by Rollins, leaping DDT by Dolph, Bossman Slam by Harper gets two. Powerbomb try, but Dolph with a sunset flip for the win at 25:16. *** Harper is furious and continues the attack, and the fight continues as though the match never ended. Crowd wants tables added to the insanity. Big Show joins the fray to tilt the ledger to the villains, and he and Kane corner Ryback. Erick Rowan now returns with steps (Harper and Kane eat them), then Dolph sends Rollins into Rowan's stairs. He enters, but Show uts him off for a chokeslam try. Dolph with a superkick, Ryback with a Meathook, Cena with an AA, and everyone agrees Rowan gets the icing on the cake with a stairs shot (crowd chants YES furiously).

Well, the last half-hour or so saved this show from absolute suckage. Now it was only mostly suck.

STATS:

MATCH TIME: 58:58 over six matches (counting Tag Team Turmoil as one match)
BEST MATCH: The six-man main
WORST MATCH: Show/Rowan
NIGHT MVP: Dean Ambrose

MY SCORE: 2.5. The first hour just annoyed me to heck, so I had no patience for the lull that usually comes. Vince, if you're going to book Raw, focus on it completely.

Matt Perri yells about Main Event tomorrow. Tommy Hall is stuck doing SmackDown. Scott Keith runs through 1996 and leads open forum discussions. Brian Bayless gives the daily update.

And someone needs to recap the Austin/Vince interview, but it won't be me.

Comments

  1. That six man tag is easily one of my top ten favorite raw matches of the year. Really good stuff. I completely slept through everything else. Also played some nba2k11.

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  2. All this booking does is, at best, tread water. They may pacify the existing fan base, but they are doing nothing to aggressively court the new fans that they desperately needto push the WWE Network into the black.

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  3. Was really hard to focus on the show what with all the deafening CM Punk chants all night long.

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  4. I saw the Wyatt and ambrose post match stuff and thought is was decent. That's about it though. Good job on the review this week Andy.

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  5. I would say the main event was about as good as it always is, but beyond that everything I may have liked is personal preference (see my take on Rusev above).

    Thanks for reading!

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  6. Reading some of the Vince podcast quotes. Yikes. Cesaro HAS to ask for his release.

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  7. What did he say?

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  8. So since everyone's listening to the Austin/Vince interview, any signs that Vince must retire in it? Because I doubt even Vince can kill WWE.

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  9. Reading some of things VKM is saying on the Austin podcast and, wow. Austin seems to be going through the motions of asking tough questions, but never presses VKM on his BS answers. It's sad that VKM and Austin both act like Austin's 2002 walkout was this horrible crime and unfair to the fans and the boys blah blah blah. They mention that it was due to Austin being booked to lose to Brock w/ no build up, but I'm not sure if there is any talk that it was a dumb booking decision .

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  10. Or the fact that Austin's neck was on it's last legs.

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  11. At this point, screw them pushing it into the black -- they need to push it into the "less red".

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  12. Said Cesaro can't be booked to be over.

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  13. Just saw it, kind of ignoring that he did naturally get over until they put a stop to it.

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  14. Got this from WrestleZone:


    -Austin asked Vince if he wanted to talk about CM Punk, and Vince started by apologizing to Punk for firing him on his wedding day. Punk revealed in his interview on Colt Cabana’s podcast that he was fired on his wedding day, and Vince said due to a miscommunication Punk’s severance papers arrived on his wedding day, and for that, Vince apologized.

    Vince added much like it has happened in the past with guys like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Ultimate Warrior, he hopes WWE and CM Punk can do business together again in the future.

    -Austin asked Vince if we would ever see Macho Man Randy Savage in the WWE Hall of Fame, Vince replied with “Yes.” Austin asked for clarification on that answer and Vince emphatically answered “Yes.”

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  15. I wonder how much of that is "I gave him Paul Heyman as a manager and he got less over, so it must be him" thinking by Vince. Even though the problem was that Heyman spent very little time promoting Cesaro and lots of time promoting Brock instead.

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  16. "Austin asks him about Cesaro. Vince says he is not connecting with his charisma and verbal skills right now. He says that the audience need to care about him. They need to feel his presence. Vince says he lacks “it.” Vince is not sure how to fix it and book him appropriately right now. He calls him a great “in-ring talent.”"



    So we all just imagined this guy being insanely over in the build up to Wrestlemania and Wrestlemania itself? Got it.

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  17. Crikey Mate Down Under AussieDecember 1, 2014 at 10:11 PM

    Anyone expecting a tough podcast out of Ausin is kidding themselves. He's never pressed his guests on their bullshit answers before and won't start now.

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  18. I address this below. I think the pairing with Heyman was toxic to Vince's view of Cesaro.

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  19. I'd rather watch Jacob's Ladder than hear Wyatt talk about it. I love that movie.

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  20. I think he know how far he can press Vince before he just clams up altogether.

    I thought he did a pretty good job.

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  21. The "it" factor and an awesome feat of strength/comedy spot aren't the same thing.

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  22. So I take it Ziggler is facing Harper for the IC Title in a ladder match? You'd think the guy who was the sole survivor in the main event of the last PPV would have a match already.

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  23. Dude looks like Jason Statham. He has "it".

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  24. Not to sound like a total rube but is any of that stuff about Rowan true?

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  25. The audience needs to care about him? The audience doesn't care about the entire goddamn show and the people we do care about get shat upon! Helen Keller was less tone deaf than the WWE is right now.

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  26. The man has the verbal presence of Patrick Ewing he does not.

    He is a mechanic with an airplane spin.

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  27. Hell of a debut for The New Day!

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  28. Some of what Vince said is true. He says Cesaro's vocal skills and charisma are lacking and his in ring skills are great. Isn't that what got him over? He didn't get over cutting promos he got over doing the swing and his great matches.

    Vince is right on that.

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  29. Vince on the Austin podcast on WWE Network was some good shit. Highly recommend.

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  30. I would point out that the fact there'd even be an argument about whether Cesaro has "it" means he probably doesn't have it.

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  31. Ask for his release and do what? Go back to RoH?

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  32. (sigh)

    A direct quote I got on Skype: "If you gave a Ring of Honor fanboy a time machine, they'd go to 2007 and plant evidence on the Benoit place that John Cena did it."

    I... words fail me.

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  33. Yeah, I've lost track of how many consecutive weeks we've talked about dead crowds when it comes to Raw. A lot of those times, we actually blame the crowd, too. But the fact remains is that people are paying money to attend these shows and sit on their hands. They don't seem to truly care about 75% of what's out there--they might be hot for one segment per hour. You can only count on Heyman, Cena, and Ziggler (it may sound insane to put him in such a small, elite group, but it's true) getting reactions.

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  34. They'd also leave a message saying that "Claudio" cures AIDS after his yearlong title reign.

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  35. I think we're looking at a long winding road ala Benoit to the top, minus the murdering. He does have charisma, though. It's up to finding the right angle or writer (that's on WWE) and up to him being able to project/amplify that voice.

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  36. Steve Austin was a mechanic with a horribly receding hairline. Doesn't mean he didn't have "it." Some people saw it, some people didn't.

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  37. No, Bob Holly was a mechanic with a receding hairline.

    Fucking NAILED that Sparky Plug joke.

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  38. Austin showed a lot in his Hollywood Blonde days. He was more like Ziggler in that the charisma was there and he just kept getting fucked with.

    Cesaro if we're lucky might grow the charisma of Arn Anderson.

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  39. High five alright! Sorry, I just never have the chance to hit one of those. Someone's always quicker to the draw.

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  40. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 1, 2014 at 11:40 PM

    Yeah he is not going to ask for his release. Nor should he.

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  41. Here's the thing, though: how does Cesaro stand out? He's not a muscle-bound monster, he's not a top technical genius like Bryan was, his mic skills lack, and there's a lot of people who can put on four-star matches on a regular basis. He may be in the line, but people like Dolph and Harper are ahead of him.

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  42. If you gave me a time machine, I'd plant evidence that proves Ken Anderson did it.


    Or Bruce Hart.

    ReplyDelete
  43. The Bengals are already cursed enough, why would you take away one of their few good things?

    Oh wait you meant Kennedy (Kennedy).

    ReplyDelete
  44. You know, back in the Attitude Era, people only cheered for Austin more or less. So it's not like this is new.

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  45. What's his hook? I'd like to see him go the full Euro route; multilingual promos, snobbery and the whole bit. The most underrated World Champion ever made his money by putting on airs before the cretinous humanoids. Get that man a scarf!

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  46. If there was a simple answer to that question, he'd already be on top. We can only pinpoint when things headed south (being hot as hell for week or two by the time they got to Wrestlemania only to flip flop on the character). But he is stronger than Ziggler, more polished than Harper, and probably more aesthetically pleasing than both of them.



    Things got fucked up. But they're going to try again. I'm thinking it's just going to be consistency + slow burn + right angle. He's got the physical tools to be a strong face, so it's all about when he turns and who he turns against.

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  47. Not everybody turns into Benoit or Bryan. It's okay being the guy in competitive ten minute matches on Raws.

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  48. This isn't really true. Stuff like the New Age Outlaws was over huge. Plus you had midcard stuff like Rikishi and Too Cool that got really over.

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  49. Hey, it's true that getting to the Dance is an affirmation of a man's career. But in this case, Cesaro was insanely over leading up to and right after WM30. The pairing with Heyman hurt, as did removing the Swing, but it shows that he has the ability to be more than a midcard mechanic. It's about seeing if you can re-light the fire.

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  50. Yeah, I'm going to disagree with that. Foley, Rock, Jericho, HHH & DX, E&C, Angle, Taker...

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  51. Read Foley's book. In 1998, people sat on their hands for everything else.

    2000 was when the WWF hit their stride and everyone got over -- which carried everyone you mentioned. But at the same time, you know what most those acts all had in common? They had signature stuff that the crowd loved, usually a catchphrase. That's why Eddie Guerrero was always more over than Chris Benoit.

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  52. Or:

    He got hot because it's fun/shocking to watch a fifty rotation airplane spin and they didn't continue to push him because that has a short shelf life.

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  53. Pedant time:

    What Cesaro does is called a giant swing. The airplane spin is a fireman's carry twirl. Please update your notes.

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  54. Or instead of reading the book, I could watch the shows. A shit ton of people were over or got over during the course of 1997-2001. I really am having issues with seeing your point.


    What does Guerrero vs Benoit have anything to do with fans sitting on hands today? And if people were hot for Guerrero, doesn't it disprove what you were just saying?

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  55. Lol my apologies, terminology is updated. Point remains though.

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  56. I feel like you're arguing against points I'm not even making.

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  57. It goes back to Cesaro. You need to have more than talent to connect. And besides in-ring talent, there's not much going on. And by the way, WM15 was the heart of the Attitude Era, and a show I watch a bit. Crowd's more or less dead for everyone who isn't in the main event. (This is Russo's fault, but still.)

    So what I'm getting at here is this: the casual fans never cheer very loudly unless given a reason to cheer, and the Attitude Era is, in the history of wrestling, more or less the exception to the rule that the casuals will only go for the big names. Decide on your own as to why.

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  58. I guess I see your point. It feels like we're arguing but I'm not sure if we're disagreeing.

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  59. The Swing was going to have to go soon anyway. It was physically impressive but ultimately a comedy-type spot. It's great if you want to be in a tag team with Santino but will wear out its welcome otherwise.

    He desperately needs a new finisher too. The Neutrzlizer's pretty damn lame.

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  60. I'd really argue the aesthetically pleasing thing. Ziggler throws himself around like a maniac. His selling skills and timing of the comeback are up there with Shawn Michaels IMO. And yes, Cesaro is stronger than Dolph, but Dolph isn't trying to be stronger. If you were to say Cesaro's stronger than Harper, you'd be comparing fairly.

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  61. So business as usual in the BoD?

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  62. It was more of euphemism for looks and not style. Ziggler has spaghetti hair and Cesaro looks like a badass action star. Bear in mind, I'm fans of both guys.

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  63. Well, there I agree -- Cesaro looks the role of a badass. I'd say Ziggler's hair helps him sell, but that's beside the point you're making.

    I'll buy that the window isn't closed on him yet, in large part because he hasn't been tried as a babyface and, as we're seeing with a certain former tag partner of his, you can't write someone off until you try them on both sides of the aisle.

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  64. Is the podcast a Network exclusive or something?

    ReplyDelete
  65. No cable for the week and honestly debating cutting the cord. Feels weird not seeing the show live and gonna investigate Hulu.

    Thank you for these recaps Andy. Your absurd level of detail keeps me in the loop.

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  66. Now THIS is dedication to gimmick posting, ladies and gentlemen! You got a genuine LOL out of me.

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  67. All the cool kids are going to http://getridofcable.net

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  68. Is there punch and pie there?

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  69. Yup! Fruit punch and pecan pie. It sounds like they don't go together, but everyone loves pecan pie (even people who say 'pee-can' rather than 'peh-kahn')!

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  70. Done and done. I call Barbie Blank.

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  71. His selling skills aren't close to Michaels. Even if you like Ziggler, he taps out at very good and not even remotely in the legendary bullpark.

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  72. Has WWE bothered to have Brie Bella explain why she's in cahoots with her sister now? The 30-day "personal assistant" thing is over, so ... Is it a case of Stockholm Syndrome, a case of Brie disliking A.J. even more than she dislikes Nikki, or do we just chalk it up to those silly broads being all cray cray as usual?

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  73. I'd say his skills are close. Whatever match you consider to be the pinnacle of Shawn's selling ability, watch it again. I doubt you could honestly tell yourself that 2014 Ziggler couldn't even dream of doing what HBK does.

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  74. Not that WWE cares about continuity, but doesn't all this new info on Rowan just make Cena look like a bully for insulting Rowan (and Harper and Bray) as a stupid, simple country bumpkin during his feud with Wyatt?

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  75. Sure matches were made for the pay per view, but were any story lines actually advanced tonight? It seemed like everyone called it in. Worst was Cena, I respect you John, but have some respect for the business and stop talking in the ring so openly. He doesn't even make an attempt to hide it anymore.

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  76. I don't think they told Nikki that she is supposed to be on the same side now, because they still have her kinda sorta bossing Brie around. But it's weird, it's not enough to really make a point and the announcers never call it or question it. So it's happening in a vacuum, because the only one really doing anything is Nikki. Strange story line, either do it or don't.

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  77. Yeah, I noticed that too. Brie was doing their little Bella body roll and Nikki bumped her out of the way -- little stuff like that. Brie appeared to fully join forces with Nikki at Survivor Series but maybe Nikki doesn't trust her yet? And again, Daniel Bryan had NOTHING to say about any of this when he was on last week?

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  78. From a real-life logic standpoint, some of the alliances we're seeing post-Survivor Series don't make sense.
    Why is Kane still playing Rollins' bodyguard? All throughout Rollins' run with The Authority, Kane (along with Orton) expressed something between annoyance and reluctance when HHH/Steph assigned him to back up Rollins. Now HHH/Steph aren't in charge, Kane is free to do what he wants, and he's still running to Rollins' defense? And why's he still dressing like "Corporate Kane" when he supposedly doesn't have a job in The Authority anymore? Unless they're bringing The Authority back soon, Kane needs a repackaging ASAP because his current character has no purpose.
    And Harper joined Team Authority like a week before Survivor Series. So it's not like Rollins and Kane were his long-term buddies. Why would he get involved in that opening segment and why would he still care about aligning himself with Rollins? He already beat Ziggler for the IC title, so if anything Ziggler should be the guy chasing Harper around trying to get the belt back, not Harper chasing Ziggler around for ... some reason.
    I get that there's a quick turnaround from Survivor Series to TLC, but more thought should've been put into that transition period.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Virgil's Gimmick TableDecember 2, 2014 at 1:19 AM

    BECAUSE FUCK YOU! I WROTE FOR HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER! I'M A GOOD WRITER! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!

    ReplyDelete
  80. The spin is strong with this report.

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  81. +1


    I work, and this recap is everything. Your work is noticed.

    ReplyDelete
  82. I only tuned into RAW to see if there were subtle/overt jabs at CM Punk

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  83. Link to where it can be heard? I guess it was on the network?

    ReplyDelete
  84. It's on Dailymotion in two parts.

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  85. I dont know. Booker had the spinaroonie and in the early Rock days the Peoples elbow was laughed at. If it gets the croed involved I see it as a plus.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Yeah agree. The friggin Godfather got a pop most of todays roster would die for. Same with Too cool.

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  87. I just mentioned exactly what you mentioned. Sorry bout that. Still getting used to disquss.

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  88. I can't imagine any WWE fan, slightly demoralised by the punk podcast and recent television, would find anything whatsoever encouraging and reaffirming in that Vince interview with Austin.

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  89. F'N Body Slams - Dan SelbyDecember 2, 2014 at 4:38 AM

    I watched it, and that summary is all pretty fair.

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  90. So booking him appropriately means losing all the time?

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  91. Yeah, I think I'll trust my eyes and ears over a guy that got bashed in the head a million times recalling a memory.

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  92. Boy, poor AJ, they sure put the screws to her to get to Punk... I mean, making her get a clean win over the women's champ by submission... I bet she's gone any time now!!

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  93. And I'm listening to the Austin/Vince podcast now, and... If it's true that he doesn't see anything in Cesaro... He's mis-reading things badly. Cesaro is great in every way.

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  94. So anonymous GM is still just having an authority figure despite there being no authority figure.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Does it seem legit or is he putting on the "Mr. McMahon Character™" ?

    ReplyDelete
  96. It amazes me that this company has over 6 hours of programming each week and an entire network dedicated to it, but they still can't take time to explain their stupid f****** storylines. All it takes is one minute before the match to have a promo ex

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  97. I am not at that part yet, but just judging by the past 6 months... I'm afraid it's legit...

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  98. Except that nobody gives a shit about him.

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  99. This is one time where I will agree with the general opinion of the BOD, and say that Cesaro was right *there* at WM 30. WWE really did bury him. :(

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  100. Well he hasn't done anything to help himself. That promo on the Survivor Series preshow was brutal.

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  101. Sort of like Vera from Cheers, and "Marris" from Frasier.

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  102. Its literally the laziest shit they could do. Instead of writing dialogue for one the dozens of guys they have on contract that could be GM they do this.

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  103. Isn't not lazy. Somebody has to tape the script to the laptop keyboard.

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  104. Cesaro is garbage...I just dont see what the big deal is with him..He has a horrible look, no charisma, and just isnt well rounded enough

    ReplyDelete
  105. Ok, I'm not attacking your opinion here, you're entitled to it, but...


    Is this bizarro world? Vince Jordan is defending the smark darling?? haha

    ReplyDelete
  106. Why is Kane still playing Rollins' bodyguard? Inertia. That's what he's been doing, and he doesn't have a compelling reason to stop doing that and be something else.

    ReplyDelete
  107. "I used to read Word Up magazine"

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  108. He's a loyal SOB I guess.

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  109. Considering that entire series ended on a swerve I can believe there is a connector to wrestling.

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  110. Ryback has a lot more potential than Cesaro

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  111. The concept of the Anonymous GM is FANTASTIC! I keep wondering who it could be..For years fans bitched and moaned about the WWE not revealing who the Anonymous GM was and the WWE listened to their fans and will deliver a big shocker when they FINALLY reveal his/her identity. I cant wait to see how it plays out......

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  112. Yeah, I went to two RAWs in 1998, and your (and Foley's) statement that everyone sat on their hands for everything but Austin is completely and utterly untrue.


    DX, Outlaws, Foley himself, Taker, Sable, even Shamrock got a good pop. There were multiple matches the fans were into, and there were multiple storylines they were into. They popped for music, they popped during interviews, they popped for signature spots.


    It is a historical fallacy that no one popped for anything but Austin.

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  113. It's Will be the Bunny.

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  114. Oh yeah, it really was "catchphrase central". One of the reasons why the rewatchability factor is way down for me. It's like, we know all the catchphrases, we know all the swerves, so all we have are 2 minute matches that end with a run in. (you think there are lots of distraction finishes NOW? oh dear...) Fun when it happened, kind of Meh now.

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  115. Livin' under a bridge must be cause traumatic brain injury.

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  116. I hope its Batista.... I miss Batista and the WWE will need him for WM

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  117. You know who's even better than Ryback? Bastion Booger! They should bring him back and put him over Daniel Bryan! Yaaaay!

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  118. Punk is soooooo humble..SMH...hes a legend in his own mind and no one else's..He claims its because of him Bryan became Champion and said he created the Shield..... .SMH..He always seems to get upset when his friends, who are just as talentless as Punk, dont get pushed..Chris Hero in The Shield? Punk is crazy, its bad enough they put that cyberfights queer Rollins in the Shield put Hero would've flopped for sure..
    CM Punk: 'It isnt about the money.'...6 months later hes calling Brock a motherf'r and complaining about not being able to have sponsors and claims he deserved to be paid more than Taker, Rock, and HHH..

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  119. What the shit is this.

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  120. I dont understand why trolls like you dont get banned..

    ReplyDelete
  121. Did Bastion Booger die? Eh well, that's a shame. Guess we can make it some other fat guy.

    ReplyDelete
  122. The Truth (not Ron Killings)

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  123. CM Punk is such a bitter coward...He has no business talking about Ryback like that...Its pretty obvious Punk is just jealous of Rybacks ability and physique..Im glad Punk left, he has no respect for guys like Triple H and Vince who helped build the WWE and put food on his and his ugly good for nothing wife's table..

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  124. You're awesome.

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  125. Sure. Let's make it Mabel. (AH DAMN!!!!)

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  126. Mcmahon from his podcast: "On my 1st night as an announcer, they gave me Arnold Skaaland, and his answers were always "Yep" or "nope".

    Abeyance?

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  127. Who is Abeyance? Is that Abyss' s alter ego?

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  128. Rollins needs a bodyguard because he is nothing but a cyberfights queer

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  129. Nah, they can just have someone else handle the promos and then lay him on top of Bryan for the three count.

    ReplyDelete
  130. That slam over the top rope of Big Show followed by the crowd going nuts was such a great moment. Then they misread the crowd and paired him with Heyman, trying to elevate him as a heel instead of cementing a face turn that night.

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  131. He's "Concessions Kane" now, that's why!

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  132. I am always curious what draws you out of hibernation each time.

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  133. You're trying way too hard.

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  134. He pops up from time to time. Most blatant and sad if the trolls.

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  135. Are you Ryback? I'm not asking because of your pro-Ryback comments, it's that you appear to have serious brain damage.

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  136. I thought this was a pretty good Raw, personally. Nothing earth-shattering, but a solid show.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  138. And the Bunny will turn out to be Hornswoggle standing on El Torito's shoulders.

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  139. Oh, neat, you say all the things that people stereotypically don't think around here.

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  140. I've got to believe that bit with him at the Concessions stand was sending up what Ryback is actually like. I think it was Daniel Bryan on Colt Cabana's podcast, where he was discussing this.


    "I WANT MORE CHICKEN"

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  141. It's the most obvious of gimmicks, is it not?

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  142. Are they doing an Avatar II tie-in?

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  143. There is a certain artform to it. He does not have it.

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  144. He wants to be a contrarian, but he's just a cont.

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  145. That bit was right by my section, just one exit over from where I was last Monday, maybe 50 feet away. I saw the crowd and figured it had to be that, but I was more interested in not peeing my pants since I'd been drinking all afternoon/evening.

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  146. I come around when I have time

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  147. Hey dude, I am NOT trolling! Im just expressing my opinion

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  148. You should have deliberately peed on the ramp as a form of Dirty Protest.


    Fuck booing Cena. Let's start whipping our dicks out, folks!

    ReplyDelete
  149. If Batista starred in Avatar 2 it would set box office records

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  150. And after listening to Punk's interview last week, it seems more and more like Ryback is the human embodiment of every muscle-headed stereotype that good workers and smarks alike absolutely hate. I find it so bizarre that Ryback gets a lot of love from some corners of smarkdom. I know that even within our hardcore little subset of fandom that opinions on wrestlers can be as wide-ranging as casual fans, but man, do I just not see at all what anyone likes about that dude.

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  151. Oo, this could be fun. Another prevailing opinion here is:


    "Chris Benoit was a bad man". What's Jordan's Judgement on that one then? I will also accept Vince's Verdict.

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  152. I'm hoping that next week he's Caretaker Kane, then the week after that it can be Car Parking Attendant Kane. Weeks of potential mirth.


    I didn't see Raw this week yet.


    I bet they already fucking went back to Kane just being Kane, didn't they?

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  153. Well Daniel was no longer in charge... So...

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  154. Well sure, the guy's already blue, that'd halve their budget and double their profit right there!

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  155. I'm with this guy. Someone get us a time machine.

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  156. Daniel Bryan has set up a match for TLC though. All he had to say was "So I've arranged for you to spend the next few weeks blah blah blah" and then we get lots of amusing backstage vignettes, and not, y'know, Kane having to go out and wrestle in matches in 2014.

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  157. "Hey, Steve Austin's still alive! Good for him!"

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  158. Thank god it was a smart crowd in Tulsa....I only heard one weak moronic CM Punk chant...The fans were to busy cheering Ryback and Cena...

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  159. They screwed this up last week. Daniel Bryan should have set up Kane to spend the next several weeks doing different backstage jobs. Have some final pay-off where Bryan comes back and gives him a job appraisal. Those two are gold in vignettes and neither of them have any business in the ring right now.

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  160. It's "The Ryback." Get it right.

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  161. Scott told me Seth Rollins was queer

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  162. It's a gas, just ask the Jews.

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  163. Whatever potential entertainment value there was in this bit nevermind there never was any.

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  164. By the way, Andy, just a suggestion, but I think sentences like "Vince, if you're going to book Raw, focus on it completely" are totally misplaced condescension. There's a more elegant, less grating way to offer critique, and when you have absolutely no experience in the field you're critiquing that's probably the way to go. This isn't to say critique is wrong or bad, it certainly isn't. But I'd try to not go the route of embodying anonymous internet know-it-all-ism.

    I was always told to write for my audience when I was younger, until one of my favorite professors told me that was bullshit: aim higher than "for your audience."

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  165. Just humor him, he'll disapear for another couple months.

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  166. Ken Anderson? The guy who used to write for 411 who feuded with Scotsman for a while?

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  167. The WWE needs to write less stuff for Seth Rollins...Scott told me Rollins is queer because of his cyberfights paat...I totally agree with him

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  168. I'd say Vince, if you're going to book raw, hurry up and die so someone good can do it instead, would be a better critique.

    ReplyDelete
  169. Its a shame Daniel Bryan got hurt because watching Brock Lesnar destroy him wouldve made sitting through his horrible YES movement worth while....Either way i am glad that for once the WWE is going in the RIGHT direction by building towards a fantastic WM 31 mainevent in Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns. There is no doubt that Roman Reigns is the future of the WWE and having him beat Brock at WM would be HUGE, so kudos to the WWE for giving us what we REALLY want. Daniel Bryan can sit at home and milk his injuries so he can make his Total Divas money but the WWE is thriving without him.

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  170. I think the same thing. But when I read people actually saying it out loud, I think, "What a fucking asshole."

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  171. I'm just happy someone else likes Batista and Ryback!

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  172. It won't be long before the Bellas are fueding for the Divas Title because Nikki and Brie out worked and out performed Aj and Paige...Aj and Paiges match was very dull and the crowd didnt care about the match at all. But when Brie Bella got the Yes Lock on, the crowd EXPLODED!!! I know that for the next month the best tv segments on WWE tv are going to be the interactions between Nikki and Brie because both of them are great actresses and more importantly, they are emotionally invested in the storyline, just like the fans are...

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  173. Jobber, what is your star rating when it comes to Andy's Star ratings yesterday?

    ReplyDelete
  174. Why not ditch the sarcastic routine and just act like a person? Its obvious that you're holding smark opinions but just giving the opposite point as a gimmick. There are actually enough wwe fan boy types that come here that you could get plenty of attention just giving your real opinions.

    ReplyDelete
  175. It might be the politest criticism of WWE I've ever seen on this board, to be fair.

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  176. This isn't very entertaining, sir.

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  177. Strongest agreement with your point. Even the goddamn ODDITIES were over for a while in 1998. Kane was a BIG DEAL back then too. X-Pac was at his most tolerable. Pretty much everyone got SOME reaction.


    Except for Jarrett, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  178. WM15 was a shit event and to judge a period of years by one night seems pretty worthless to me. You might as well find the best late WCW PPV and use it to prove that the final years of that company were actually really good.

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  179. I didn't see any of the matches unfortunately... But a reviewer I highly trust gave the main event 3 stars also. I was going to watch one match but I just didn't get a chance. I did see the ambrose vs Wyatt post match stuff....the pull apart was decent, but Wyatt's promos are straight DoD rip offs and I think they suck, and Ambrose's crazy act...I dunno, but the segment wasn't actively offensive or anything like that.

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  180. Doubling their viewing figures overnight!

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  181. This is all crazy talk Andy.. .fine review this week, but this is a bad look right here. Very untrue.

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  182. I mean, in fairness, if I wrote about this every week instead of every month or two, I'd probably say "fuck it" and stop trying, too.

    ReplyDelete
  183. That was Jarrett's best reactions too, during the Chyna feud.

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  184. I had hope that maybe he was the guy who bucked the trend, somehow, just based on a few positive mentions of him by other wrestlers as being a 'funny guy', for all that's worth.


    But nah. It's just as you say.


    My girl can't get past what a 'mean face' he has. Like, of every wrestler on the roster, he's the one guy she thinks looks truly unpleasant............ or he's just in character of course...

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  185. Jobber please, your star rating for Andy's star ratings.

    ReplyDelete
  186. As a life long WWF fan I've always enjoyed "the big lug" guys Vince just hires like Warlord, Barbarian, snitsky, the Nazi poet one etc...just as something stupid to laugh at. But they were confined to mid card acts. I enjoy Ryback in the same way, and I like his weird promos and his bully act slayed me, but I don't want him stinking up main event matches and personally, I would have probably fired him for hurting punk.

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  187. Ah, I guess you're talking about that whole 'era', and yeah, he was most over at that time - but that was in 1999, whereas I was thinking specifically of 1998. He spent most of the year hanging around with Southern Justice. And that's basically it.

    ReplyDelete

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