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Audience of One

Scott,

The current mantra among fans is that the writers are handcuffed by having to please Vince and Vince only (or, conversely, that Vince rewrites the show to please himself and himself only).  I won't say that's false because God knows I've seen enough of Raw to know it's true.  But I've also seen a bunch of people who use things like EWR to re-book the WWE going forward, and it's made me wonder: don't most people who have the book in an organization -- real or fictional, global or local -- do whatever the hell they want and hope the fans agree with them?

​Yes, but the difference is that typically if fans DON'T agree with what they're doing, other bookers changed the product to suit them better. The WWE product is literally getting to the point where it's trolling the fanbase and eroding ratings in the process.  I can't see USA putting up with this for much longer.  ​

Comments

  1. The three-hour show killed them. That, and the fact that they gutted their entire PPV Market.

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  2. "I can't see USA putting up with this for much longer. ​"

    Are you insinuating that USA might cancel RAW? Maybe this is what the McMahons want all along. USA cancels RAW, but they spin it as RAW is moving exclusively to the Network. RAW airs live for 8 hours evey Monday instead of 3, has double the commericals, arenas have an open door policy where fans can come in and watch and leave at their own discretion, they can finally do one hour or longer Triple H promos, and Cena can wrestle 4 times each Monday. Isn't it what we as a fan base has always wanted?

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  3. Scott - how are the advertising revenues looking for USA?

    I remember hearing it was the network (not the Network) who pushed for the 3rd hour of Raw in order to sell more ads, so I presume that's the main driving force and if they're still selling ad time, will they give a shit how terrible the product is?

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  4. I am genuinely curious as to whether some of the backstage 'old school' stalwarts - the HHHs, Arn Andersons, Dean Malenkos of the world - truly recognize how bad the creative has become over time.


    Maybe I'm being completely naive here, but guys like them have always shown to have an aptitude for the business, and I just can't comprehend that they'd be on board with this garbage.


    I mean, ultimately they have to be, because they all answer to Vince, but deep down, they have to understand this is terrible, right?

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  5. Well I grew tired of it and no longer watch them or support their current product.

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  6. Well just look at NXT. That is run primarily by Triple H and some other creative writers. It's probably just Vince, Steph, and Dunn that are inept.

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  7. I'm dropping the Network in 10 days and don't plan on even re-newing for Rumble or Mania. The product right now is disgusting.

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  8. Scott, will you be reviewing the live Impact reboot tomorrow?

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  9. Lol (tm dougie)

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  10. USA isn't dropping RAW anytime soon. I'm sure it still draws better ratings than most if not all of their original programming.

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  11. That's precisely my point. Look, we know HHH gets a world of shit for a variety of reasons, but hasn't the difference between the main product and NXT confirmed that he has a grasp for how to put on a great wrestling program?

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  12. You have to factor in what they are paying for RAW though.

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  13. They don't run those Modern Family marathons all day for fun. They run them because they bring in rubes.

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  14. Or take a look at HHH happily playing the lead character on Raw for the last two years while the show has sunk to the worst its ever been.


    The "NXT is great so HHH knows how to write wrestling" meme is bullshit. The dude is no savior.

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  15. Possibly, but it's hard to get your head around sometimes when he and his wife are the absolute worst thing about WWE.

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  16. Nah. If he had a grasp he would push to stop trotting his completely insufferable character out there week after week and wouldn't spend his mic time burying the roster.

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  17. I'm guessing Scott is referring more to USA telling them to stop whatever they are doing.

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  18. Hey if you guys could stop being dumb shits that would be great.

    Love,
    USA Network.

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  19. It can't be worse than RAW is currently.

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  20. I never said HHH was a savior, but have you ever considered the idea that HHH and Stephanie play their roles on TV because Vince wants an authority figure and Vince has them participate as on-screen characters?

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  21. Exactly. HHH obviously think Raw is what wrestling TV is supposed to be.

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  22. Everyone knows the product is awful, and they've known for years now. The problem is that anyone who dares speak up against Vince's awful ideas are banished, while writers who cater to Vince's weird sense of humor get their shit featured on shows.


    Listen to former head writer Alex Greenfield's interview on JR's podcast. He talked about getting into shouting matches with Vince over booking and Paul Heyman had to calm him down. Greenfield even admits on the podcast that it's Vince's sandbox and everyone is just grateful to be given the opportunity to play in it.

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  23. If anyone has the type of pull to step in and tell Bince no it would be HHH and Steph. They don't because it's a 3 hour ego fest for them. I'll never understand people thinking HHH cares about anything other than HHH.

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  24. Who says he hasn't done that, and Vince has put the kabosh on it because he has this now-archaic line of thinking that there NEEDS to be an authority figure role on TV?

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  25. Sure, but the idea that HHH is some silent no-input guy who actually hates WWE TV is complete bullshit. He's no worse than the #2 most important decision maker on Raw (Vince, Steph, HHH, and Dunn are the mix) creative. He absolutely is responsible for a big part of Raw's creative direction, so the idea that he's just gritting his teeth and knows Raw stinks is laughable.

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  26. Apparently the memos from USA call for exactly the kind of shit they keep airing, sadly.

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  27. I'm not absolving HHH of his ego, Lord knows he's proven he has one in other fashions, but I guess my point is that this crap lies at the feet of Vince, ultimately.

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  28. I guess HHH knows that he will one day rule the company entirely, so there's no point getting into some futile battle with Vince right now and blowing up his spot.

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  29. Completely laughable. There are some really delusional marks around here.

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  30. We're both speculating on things we wouldn't know for sure unless we were there in those meetings every week. Your take is completely fair and justified. They've earned that perception.

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  31. The only point in having it is if you don't have a tape or DVD collection and want to bury yourself in classic shows. The PPV aren't worth $0.99 let alone $9.99 right now.

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  32. It's sad to think that it is 2015 and Triple H & Stephanie had amount 40 minutes of combined promo time last night.

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  33. There's no spot to blow up. He married to his daughter. It's done. Vince doesn't pull it all away because HHH disagrees on a storyline. It's insane to even think that.

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  34. I don't think it's necessary to be insulting just because I happen to have a slightly different take than you do. Like I said below, I agree with your viewpoint to an extent.

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  35. Yeah that's just unreal. It's gotten to the point where as a WWE fan they've given you nothing to root for other than the actual TV show getting cancelled.

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  36. I would assume yes they do, but at the end of the day those guys are really lucky to be making a pay check in wrestling and not selling real estate or cars or some other shitty job. They would never speak up.

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  37. But what if HHH completely agrees with my viewpoint and just doesn't want to upset Vince by coming right out and saying it?

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  38. How do they use Newark Airport to rebook the WWE?

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  39. Worse is they did the whole "everybody on the roster in one spot at one time" thing that makes zero sense and makes everyone look like losers.

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  40. Cody Rhodes could be HUGE in Real Estate. The guy has charisma.

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  41. I remember a RAW from 2000, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, that ended with Trips and Steph at the top of the ramp kissing with champaigne and balloons falling from the ceiling. Scary that those two things happened in the last two weeks. It's like they think its DX 2000 all over again. Also, Triple H has done nothing but hire his buddies as trainers so the product will always revolve around him somehow. Always.

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  42. Konnan said it best, he just can't resist burying that talent. He has no self control and constantly makes it a dick measuring contest just like his wife and father-in-law.

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  43. But like... NXT is 100% only HHH so he knows what he's doing right?

    /s

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  44. A few years ago, Miz and Truth got fired but they kept
    getting into the building and caused SO MUCH CHAOS that the entire roster felt
    unsafe and walked out on Triple-H. Maybe that’ll happen again with the three
    losers from last night.

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  45. Oh god, the fruit baskets. How fucking embarrassing.

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  46. The same way they use the Mason Jewett Field airport, but Mason is more in depth.

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  47. I'm hoping that USA will hire someone like Palmer Cannon to take over the booking for WWE.


    Except instead of Palmer Cannon, it'll be Jim Cornette.

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  48. Triple H probably wrote like 5 minutes of that NXT show and got a fruit basket and all the praise for it. LOL.

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  49. Has WWE been booking this way since 1993?

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  50. Where's the God damn daily update?

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  51. Did they mention Bryan at all last night?

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  52. Ever since Bayless won that Doomie award he's been slacking.

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  53. Considering the way things are going, that will most probably be the price of the Network in a couple of years.


    "ONLY NINETY-NINE CENTS MAGGLE! I LUV IT!"

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  54. Who cares about Bryan? THE AUTHORITY IS BACK! LONG LIVE HHH! LONG LIVE THE KING OF KINGS, THE CEREBRAL ASSASIN, THE GANE, THE ONE TRUE DESTROYER, HEAD WRITER 110% RESPONSIBLE FOR NXT, HHH!!!!!

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  55. I wish I could figure out how to get njpw world

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  56. "The One" Billy Gunn. I wouldn't be surprised if Billy Gunn got a singles push at some point in 2015.

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  57. Maybe Vince finally got his own brass ring and will not give it to anyone else?

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  58. Vince has a brass butt plug and it doesn't come out for anyone.

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  59. Exactly. That might have worked had the roster just snapped, pissed off with Cena for bringing back HHH/Steph, and collectively - faces and heels united - just beaten the tar out of him.

    Now THAT would have been an interesting opening to the show. Maybe a few start fighting one another once they've decided it's gone a bit too far, or because they realise they're fighting alongside the guy they hate. Would have been a nice precursor to the Rumble's every-man-for-himself aspect, without the generic "let's have a Battle Royal today!" trope they usually pull in the weeks running up to it.

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  60. Don't give them ideas. We'll get HHH bringing back the Kiss My Ass Club again next week.

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  61. I had a weird dream not too long ago that both DX and the nWo were reunited (as the Kliq), and they immediately put themselves in a Main Event Program. Again, this was 2015.

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  62. I'm sure it's been said in the comments but I caught the last ten minutes or so of Raw and that was just death to watch. I don't regularly tune into raw anymore (keep up by reading this blog basically) but good lord, that was like "wcw late 1999" levels of bad.

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  63. What it someone grabs it REALLY firmly?

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  64. It does three things:
    1) It makes the roster seem like they've had enough, and makes them look dangerous combined;
    2) It gives HHH/Steph more heat against Cena by manipulating the roster ("Hey Slater Gator! Beat Cena this week and maybe you'll get title shots" or some crap), and
    3) Like you said, it gives the RR real stakes.



    But that would be awesome. So naturally, it won't happen.

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  65. 1) Don't get them ideas.
    2) Lay off the Taco Hell at 3am, brah...

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  66. Psh. THAT B-plus player? Why should they?

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  67. So um Ambrose lost again last night right?

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  68. I'm sort of pissed off that Austin blew so much money on divorces, etc. that he couldn't outright say, "your current product sucks" to Vince on the podcast. He asked the right questions, but not the right follow-ups. He HAD to have known that most of Vince's answers were stupid ("their millenials", "Cesaro is Swiss", etc.) at least call him out for that BS about dressing well because that fucking tie was the ugliest piece of shit I've ever seen in my life. But nope, Austin just went: hard question - soft answer - no follow-up or worse total agreement. Maybe Austin himself is delusional, but based on his comments on the current product it's obvious he's bored as well and rarely watches.

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  69. Poor Triple H, being forced by that nasty old Vince to come back as an on screen authority figure just over a month after he left. You can really see how much he begrudges those 20 minute promos.

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  70. We're complaining now, but we'll all be fans again when CM Punk comes back and wins the Royal Rumble.

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  71. Extreme Warfare Revenge. It's a wrestling game where you can book your own wrestling angles and events.

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  72. CM PUNK! CM PUNK! CM PUNK!

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  73. I'm officially in the read it online only crowd. The one anti-smark argument I agree with is to stop watching the product if you hate it. I hate the current WWE and would rather watch almost anything else.

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  74. It could also have the added subtle benefit of showing that the roster CAN act as one, and maybe you could see HHH/Steph enjoying the beating initially, then maybe their smiles fading a little when they realise that, shit, the plebs united are actually a bit scary...

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  75. Who cares? It's probably "dirtsheets say something obvious about how tone-deaf the WWE is" ad infinitum.

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  76. Haha, I don't touch the stuff. I live right across from a Bodega with an authentic Mexican restaurant.
    Sidebar: Did they ever figure out if Taco Bell actually serves real meat? I always figured it was horse and newspapers.

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  77. I bet Austin figured that this is Vince's baby, and that he's not going to change his mind anytime soon about things. That Podcast was Austin's one shot to set things straight, but Vince won't put himself in a compromising or embarrassing situation.

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  78. Eric Young! TNA means business!

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  79. He'd rather be working on his brain child, NXT. So good it could only have come from the mind of THE KING OF KING, THE GAME, THE CEREBRAL ASSASSIN, THE ONE TRUE DESTROYER HHH!

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  80. Here is a way to increase ratings for RAW. A three hour gangbang involving the entire roster and Stephanie McMahon.

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  81. MikeyMike, JuggernautJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:25 AM

    I still can't believe how big of idiots they made the faces look last night.

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  82. Isn't heel heat usually built up through reverence and intimidation?

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  83. I'm more curious as to whether or not the first round of the best of the 90's music countdown is still going down over at PTBN.

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  84. Wrestling Logic 101 has not applied to the WWE in the past few months

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  85. Your logic has no place here.

    - WWE Creative

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  86. Could you imagine Jesse Ventura burying the heel?? I didn't watch the product and I'm glad that sounds just awful.

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  87. So it looks like Unit, Pedro, Smoltz, and even Biggio will make it in the Hall today, s they're projecting safely above the 75% mark with a third of the ballots released, with Piazza on the fringe (meaning he'll probably fall just shy but should be a lock next year with less of a logjam) and Raines and Bagwell still getting shafted

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  88. Got it! Makes sense now.

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  89. Jesse Ventura put over the jobbers more than they put over the secondary champs today.

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  90. MikeyMike, JuggernautJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:27 AM

    You finally get the IC title looking somewhat decent and just had BNB win it again and make it a shit title forever. You made a bunch of guys that were getting built like stars for taking down the Authority now looking like a bunch of idiots.

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  91. What a joke that dude has become

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  92. Man. I suppose if WM31 ends up with DBry holding up the belt again, the trip may be worth it. But it's going to be a horrible ride.

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  93. Trashing a new act that the audience has no frame of reference for is soooooo much more effective, then, I don't know, having them do heel things.


    JBL mocking them, or I don't know, having them do their finisher to the Bunny.


    The only way what they did to them last night makes sense is if their gimmick is literally going to be they're weak LOD/Demolition poseurs. WWE isn't sophisticated enough to pull that level of nuance off.

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  94. Man I loved Bagwell.

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  95. Does anyone care about these tournaments? WHOO I WANT TO VOTE FOR MY FAVORITE MUSIC TAG TEAM FROM THE 90'S. WHOOMP THERE IT IS

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  96. JBL should have agreed that the Acension is better than the Road Warriors if he wanted to get them heel heat.

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  97. ^THIS! Talking with someone who was in Creative, there are a million things they WANT to do different, but at the end of the day it's Vince's playground. Writers have been fired for pushing certain talents too hard to Vince (McIntrye and Kidd for two). Vince has final say on who gets pushed, who gets on TV, and what they do. Until it becomes blatantly obvious (see Bryan's run last year), only the chosen ones get a chance to shine. And it's really a self-fulfilling prophecy. Vince doesn't see money in Wrestler X initially....wrestler X gets limited TV time.....wrestler X doesn't get over...Vince is right that Wrestler X can't draw money. Repeat...ad nauseum.

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  98. January 4, 1999: It's Austin Appreciation Night as Vince struts down to ringside with the usual stooges Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. He immediately calls out Austin who cautiously walks down to the ring and just stands there deflated as Vince cuts a 10-minute promo tearing him down. Vince then calls out Mick Foley, Owen Hart and Kane and proceeds to fire them as everyone stands there pouting and defeated as Raw goes off the air.

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  99. The only way that pays off is if the plan is to bring back Demolition, have Demolition destroy them, and Demolition gets pushed as long term world tag team champions.


    Short of that it's ridiculous.

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  100. I don't think anyone in the crowd knew who LOD or Demolition was.

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  101. Wrestling Logic 101 has not applied to the WWE in the past 10 years.*


    *FTFY

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  102. and somehow always did so with more logic with his statements than I can remember hearing in the last...well, crap. Since he left?

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  103. Or APA. Bradshaw gets so enraged that he puts on the body paint, finds Faarooq and they beat them back to jobber city.

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  104. They bring in rubes for easy click numbers.

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  105. It's fascinating in car crash kind of way to see Vince completely flip off the audience from week-to-week. Between the Network's lukewarm rollout and reception, the Batista return
    failing miserably (completely their fault), CM Punk bailing, Bryan
    being injured for eight months, the continued indifference to Cena by
    the older audience, the across-the-board praise for NXT, and the total
    destruction of Ambrose, Cesaro, and Wyatt's heat, you'd think that Vince
    would realize that the product needs a MAJOR overhaul. I mean, aside
    from Mania 30 and NXT, 2014 was an AWFUL year for WWE in every facet of
    the business - financial, ratings, buyrates, PR.

    The Authority angle should've been dead and buried at Mania 30 or, at the latest, when The Shield beat Evolution at two consecutive PPVs. This angle has gone on since SummerSlam 2013, almost 18 months ago. We've essentially had 18 months of heels dominating the program with two brief reprieves (post-Mania 30 and post-Survivor Series 2014).

    And yet here we are still.

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  106. I'd rather not see the Bradshaw or Faarooq's flabby man titties.

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  107. I really hope Raw gets fucking cancelled at this point. Really, the only thing worth rooting for in pro wrestling is for Raw's ratings to keep tanking.


    What a fucking terrible company.

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  108. I don't think enough was said about how bad the Roman Reigns promo was last night. Holy shit. I missed it last night but this is embarrassing. Who thought it was a good idea to write this for him?

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  109. MikeyMike, JuggernautJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:34 AM

    I am going to say it again, but I can't imagine how that meeting went deciding "Yep, this is going to be good."
    What the fuck is their obsession with the Authority.

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  110. They make everything meaningless now. Stipulations mean nothing

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  111. Demolition got zero reaction... The Road Warriors got something.

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  112. OK, I just watched the Ascension last night and if that's supposed to get heel heat then they have no idea what they are doing.

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  113. MikeyMike, JuggernautJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:35 AM

    Hey, the IC Belt finally looks good for the first time in three years!
    FUCK IT, hotshot it on a guy that doesn't need it!

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  114. I thought the columnists and reviewers in EWR were made up, until one day I was in a bookstore and saw "Tonight in This Very Ring" on the shelf.

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  115. Ascension needs a heel manager BADLY.

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  116. Cena vs Orton,one more timeJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:35 AM

    Guess those acting classes didn't pay off

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  117. I........would turn that off and not watch again.

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  118. I had a feeling that's what they were TRYING with the Ascension, but as ever, it was given the delicate handling of a Kaiju opening a Faberge Egg.

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  119. Biggio going in before Bagwell is crap... they should have gone in together if anything.

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  120. Agree. That is bullshit.

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  121. The guy needs to say very little or stay away from the mic. Ideally, I'd say let him go work indies for 6 months to a year, but, you know.

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  122. MikeyMike, JuggernautJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:36 AM

    They don't have stipulations lol. I don't think they know what the fuck that means.

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  123. But... but... he's SUPERMAN! SCHWOOOSH!!!!

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  124. They should dim the arena lights and just light him with a spotlight while he recites Shakespeare.

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  125. They couldn't just let us figure it out, could they? They have to beat it into our dumb heads.

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  126. Cena vs Orton,one more timeJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:37 AM

    Upvote for kaiju

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  127. WOW just looked it up:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0ePgft6tPM



    Ho. Ly. SHIT.


    This guy absolutely fucking sucks. Like a speeding bullet pa-dowwum! WOW.


    At least Renee Young is hot. That's the only decent thing about that segment. But yeah, this dude is a fucking disaster. Please, someone defend that shit.

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  128. MikeyMike, JuggernautJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:37 AM

    He was more over when he didn't talk. I remember when Goldberg was making WCW millions and millions of dollars in 98 and they had him cut goofy promos.

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  129. I have to say, I enjoy Stephanie's little heel mannerisms like "Whoo!" and the dance she did during the celebration at the end. But the storylines with HHH and Steph at the forefront aren't working.



    Daniel Bryan beat the Authority. The Shield beat the CRAP out of the Authority's Evolution. Then Dolph Ziggler beat the Authority a few months later. Sting will probably beat the Authority at Mania. The Authority is useless and outside of elevating Rollins, they haven't really done anything for the show lately.

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  130. His delivery was atrocious but besides 80's Hogan, no one else was going to make that work.

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  131. Ellering would be cool if he's still around somewhere

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  132. The commentators weren't even needed at all. They should just have came out and ran down pretty much every legendary tag team they could think of, just dismissed them off-handedly ("Road Warriors? Nothing!") and just came across as super-arrogant. That would at least get some natural heel heat, if you're going to avoid subtlety whatsoever, then you may as well go whole hog on it.

    This blue balls shit helps no-one.

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  133. They aren't worth pushing.

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  134. Just watched the Roman Reigns promo from last night. Seriously, please someone defend this guy as being even halfway fucking decent.


    Him winning the Rumble absolutely will get an 11 on the Batista scale.

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  135. I dunno. Every time Ellering showed up in WWE, it was pretty fucking terrible.

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  136. They don't know how to build a heel outside of central authority figure (exception being Heyman/Lesnar, which is pretty much 100% a Heyman production, and not even so sure Lesnar's completely heel anyway).


    Even Rollins who has the most heel heat of anyone, his primary motivation has been Authority related.


    They just can't see beyond it.

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  137. Anyone's worth pushing if you can (shock horror) play to their strengths. Not everyone has to be technically amazing. There's room on the card for a dominant power team who do very little other than kick the shit out of their opponents. Just needs to be positioned right.

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  138. I think they were trying for orton legend killer heat, without the legends actually being there

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  139. They're not, but it sucks for the audience to watch them try to ineptly push someone. Might as well give them a heel manager and at least try to make it enjoyable.

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  140. Meltzer this morning discussed how he thinks Reigns is basically in quicksand right now after this promo and himself even said it could get ugly if he wins the Rumble. And he has been a huge proponent of Reigns.

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  141. Then he needed to say something else. If he doesn't have the knowledge that it sucked or the balls to say he needed to say something different, then who gives a shit. The dude is atrocious.

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  142. This is why HHH taking over the company isn't promising to me because I think he'll just continue to book himself as a central figure.

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  143. It was cringeworthy.

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  144. It was a shitty, shitty, shitty promo. Time to keep him away from the mic.

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  145. The writers should know how to write for people. That was cornball shit. I've seen Reigns in forums and interviews and the charisma is there. I could write for him better than creative.

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  146. He's the absolute epitome of someone whose best place is in an tag team alongside someone who can actually work, but needs a big brutal-looking bastard to take the hot tag and save the day.

    He is never (at this stage) a main eventer, or even a good solo act, in a million years.

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  147. I think some people backstage are booking him to fail. They can't be this obtuse that they can't see where he's struggling.

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  148. Wrestlers like Roman Reigns are what the IC Title used to be for. Give
    him a year with that belt, strengthen the title picture, THEN move him
    on to the World Title. It goes without saying that hotshotting the belt onto him is a mistake.

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  149. If they were self aware enough, they'd cut their losses and work to flip him Rock style.

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  150. A early contender for the worst promo of the year.

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  151. I've been in that crowd for a year. I watch all kinds of wrestling on Monday nights, just not WWE. My wrestling fandom has gone WAY up as a result.

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  152. tell him to leave the puppet at home. he could do a pretty decent (although a bit homoerotic) promo


    really listen to him talk about the road warriors back in the nwa days, it really seems like he wants to fuck them

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  153. Agree. Build him up like they did with Warrior in 89.

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  154. I don't get why they find it so hard. Brock is champion, he has an advocate. Heyman challenges people. People challenge Brock. Brock accepts. Matches are made. Someone wins. You do a rematch. Someone interferes. Now wrestler 1 or 2 wants to fight THAT guy for interfering. It's pretty damn basic. You don't need a GM or anything else to do this stuff.

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  155. Any rational person would think this, but then again, they legitimately thought Batista was a good idea...

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  156. WCW late 1999 was entertaining because it was always a dumpster fire. It never bored like the parts of Raw I watched last night.

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  157. Oh I think they're putting him in a position where he's gonna have to turn heel out of how bad he bombs. He doesn't even have the support/skills to pull off a Cena 50/50 type reaction, which in itself would have been a failure considering that's what their #1 face has been getting for 10 fucking years.


    Reigns is trash and they've already botched him completely. Honestly at this point I hope they trudge through and have him win the Rumble just for the audience reaction. WWE has firmly moved into just a car crash theater show at this point.

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  158. Well I guess you could definitively say it is THE worst promo of the year so far. Isn't this the first live show of 2015?

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  159. Cena vs Orton,one more timeJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:44 AM

    I just watched R:Evolution again,and Reigns cut a pretty good promo,I thought.Confident delivery,put over the title match and NXT as a whole big time.He can definitely talk.


    Maybe RAW just sucks the charisma out of people,I dunno

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  160. They "say" it's 100% beef*.







    * Eyes closed, and seasoned with enough salt to make shredded tires edible.

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  161. He really has. He gave that Orton match like 4 stars. Starting to feel a little bad for the guy it's gotten so awful, he's clearly out of his depth and the pressure must really be getting to him.

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  162. I can't believe how they fucked up Reigns the past few months. And they actually want this guy to be the future and booked him this way on purpose.

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  163. I don't watch nxt, but apparently they were a sorta big deal there right?


    writing off their careers after two squash matches on raw seems premature

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  164. Gabe did the same with Nigel in ROH and turned him into a star. Secondary titles work when the booking is to treat them as something important by the wrestler holding the belt.

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  165. Anyone could. But he totally should have the awareness to know that it's garbage and fucking stand up for himself and offer something better. For chrissakes his career is at stake.


    All anyone has to judge these guys by, all they should be judged by, is what they do and say on this national TV show. And based on how he appears on national TV, Roman Reigns is a complete goon and dork and deserves nothing but derision.

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  166. It could be any number of reasons.


    1) They made their most money with one angle based on that and just think if they keep going to the well, they'll strike gold again.


    2) Total narcissism of HHH & Steph wanting to be on TV and central figures.


    3) Creative staff laziness.


    4) Fear that the audience won't treat faces/heels properly, and a lack of ability to adapt to how to book faces/heels in a non-kayfabe business.

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  167. Its more that they were there for a long time wrestling in short matches. They never stood out.

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  168. I used to laugh when Jobber would predict he's gonna be Sheamus 2.0. Christ, at this point I'd say he'd be lucky to even sniff Sheamus' post Mania 28 career.

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  169. It's not even his fault. No one could get over being booked the way you guys have been talking about. (I haven't seen any of it yet.) How hard is it to have him start sticking up for the badly treated baby faces by running out, powerbombing HHH or something, and standing over him jawing while the show goes off the air. They already have the template with Austin.

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  170. I think 4 is pretty interesting. They have reached the point where they really believe wins and losses don't matter, so they probably do think that nobody will care about a match if there isn't some overarching authority angle that the match plays into.

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  171. Cena vs Orton,one more timeJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:48 AM

    "stand up for himself and offer something better"


    You could say the same thing about 99% of the on-screen talent.I have no idea know why they can't get together and demand better from the management-both creatively and financially.

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  172. If you want to wrestle, WWE created a monopoly so if you stand up, they can bury you completely. And since they want to create stars by recruiting non-wrestlers and training them, they have no track record elsewhere and it will be harder for them to get work. They have a business plan in place to create cheap talent and make them do what they want with a huge advantage of lack of other opportunities for the wrestlers elsewhere. IT sucks for wrestling.

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  173. Not only that, but it now trains the audience to realize that the heels getting beat ultimately means nothing. You know that they will just gain their heat back right away.

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  174. All true.


    Well, good on WWE. They've created an environment in which none of their wrestlers are worth a shit and are impossible to root for or care about. Hence business is in the toilet and swirling faster everyday. Good job dummies!

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  175. Here's a theory....I think the WWE is trying to become a multi-media company like Disney or Warners. They want episodic TV shows, not wrestling shows. They want to make movies. They want to own and sell their own Netflix entirely comprised of content they own. They no longer consider themselves a wrestling promotion and aren't trying to make a wrestling show.

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  176. It's the talents fault, they're not grabbing the brass ring.

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  177. Very possible. And therefore they'll be out of business within ten years.

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  178. Same, I stopped around May last year and only watching NXT is just so much better than the current bull shit. Everything I've read seems to validate my decision

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  179. Cena vs Orton,one more timeJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:51 AM

    One little problem with their grand idea.They absolutely suck at anything not related to wrestling.

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  180. That was the great thing about Jesse. He was ALWAYS right. The way he could fluster Vince on-air was just beautiful.

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  181. WWE with their TV product is like Marvel not giving a crap about their comics because the money is merchandising anyway. Hhh-Stephanie makes me turn the channel.

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  182. It is not possible to work in a call center and maintain any level of hope for humanity.

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  183. Ambrose and Ziggler can't grab the brass ring when they are jobbed

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  184. that's what they did with ambrose/rollings and everyone shit their pants that they were cheated out of a clean finish

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  185. And they're not really good at the wrestling thing either

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  186. Ziggler was too successful getting over after so many failed attempts, they needed to bring him down notch

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  187. Not a theory; that's exactly what they claim they are. Look at their annual report. They brand themselves as a fully-integrated multi-media company.

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  188. I've been calling this for a while. If you go back and watch Shield promos, it's all Dean and Seth carrying the load, with intermittent Reigns yelling "BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!" and even then it was kinda cringeworthy.


    His promo in NXT wasn't awful, though. Maybe he's just struggling with the scripted crap?

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  189. I worked in one for 3 months. It was the worst job I ever had (including being a roofer one summer in high school). It only got better when I stopped caring and just did goofy stuff like make fun of callers and sing to people.

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  190. WWE.com's RAW results provided this gem: "and despite The Big Guy’s positivity-fueled counter-attack, The Authority’s synergy was too strong."
    Also, apparently now Reigns is the "Big Dog"?

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  191. Huh. Good point.

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  192. No... I worked in one for 13 months, and found out I lost my job by watching the news one day after work.

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  193. Cesaro was going to get over after WM, so they killed two birds with one stone and gave him Paul Heyman, so they can blame both of them why the push got stalled

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  194. I mean, you're right and everything and it explains a lot of the dumb shit they do.

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