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How long as champ?


Hi Scott,

Once Reigns wins the title at Wrestlemania, how long does he hold it for?

Fan reaction clearly isn't that much of a concern as it's more about WWE having a plan and sticking with it for better or worse. Yet what is the plan with Reigns as champ? Fight Big Show, Rollins or Orton before falling to Cena at Summerslam? Keep it on him for a year and hope something happens by fluke to keep Reigns "popular"?

Wrestlemania's main event is a foregone conclusion having being telegraphed for months but what follows hopefully creates some intrigue.

Cheers.


Yeah, that's the other issue with his push.  The story leading up to the Lesnar win is one thing, but who are his challengers after the show?  Big Show?  Kane?  Evil Sheamus?  Bray Wyatt?  It's bad enough that the whole run-up to the WM season feels like it was booked on a napkin based on Vince's whims as it is, but I don't feel like there's any real long term plan evident.  And Rollins is gonna have to cash in by July, too, which they seem to be putting off as long as possible. It really is a case where having the 2 World titles would have helped them immensely.  

Comments

  1. Unless Rollins is going to cash in AT Wrestlemania then lose to a freshly-turned Big Show, or to Cena, who will then forefit the US title and we'll get some kind of tournament that will come down to Rusev vs. Big Show in the finals.

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  2. Long-term planning = random time to WM. That's all that matters!

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  3. Easy solution: Rollins challenges Reigns to a match at the next PPV, stacking the odds amazingly in his favor (lumberjack, blindfold, what have you). Reigns barely loses, then Rollins defends against schlubs, while building Roman to finally beat him.

    It's not much, but it's better than Reigns crashing and burning against scrubs who have no business being in a world title match.

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  4. Reigns will beat Kane, Show, Sheamus, Rollins, then lose to Cena!

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  5. I assume they'll do a Reigns/Bryan for the belt. I mean, the E is pretty stupid, but they have to want to make $$$ from somewhere right? And to troll fans when Reigns win again?

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  6. Rollins would have a much better run. Could have Bryan, Reigns, Ambrose and Orton all chasing

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  7. April PPV: Reigns vs. Bryan. No finish/DQ.
    May PPV: Reigns vs. Bryan. Reigns win, Rollins tries to cash, but cannot cash.
    June: Reigns vs. Rollins. Reigns win, run-in, Rollins cashes and wins belt.
    July: Rollins vs. Reigns. No finish/DQ.
    Summerslam: Rollins vs. Reigns. Rollins win.


    We may get an Orton vs. Reigns in there somewhere, but I think this is a very safe prediction.

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  8. I hate that you are right.

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  9. I said this last night, but they've essentially hit a holding pattern with Rusev. If (and of course, considering his opponent right now, it's a very big if) he's still looking strong after Wrestlemania, they have to elevate him and there's your big heel challenger.

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  10. I have to assume that Cena is going over Rusev at WM, with maybe an assist from Hogan to counter Lana (not that she does a lot normally).


    It's not in the E's mindset for Cena to lose at WM against a non top-carder.

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  11. Two world titles will never make sense to me. One of them was invariably treated like a secondary title. Just let the secondary titles fill that role, it's what they're there for.

    Reigns should be beating Rusev for a secondary belt this year, defending it all year, and challenging the champ next year a la WM6.

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  12. After last night, I'm thinking it's going to be a fluke win. It'll be Cena pulling a win out of his pants, not unlike the Lesnar match from 2012. I think Rusev will still come out of it looking like a beast and it's going to be time to finally do something more with him.

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  13. Well they can always turn Bryan heel since they don't care that he's popular anyway. But Big Show, Kane, Sheamus, Rusev? That's underwhelming.

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  14. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:05 PM

    Well let's see, when they throw a bone to a "small unrealistic" face, like Benoit, Eddie, or Bryan, they usually plan to snatch it right back from them in a few months (only reason Bryan was planned to hold the title until Summerslam was due to Brock's schedule). When it's someone they want, i.e. "big & marketable", they can hold on to it for a long ass time. If they're really sticking with their guns on Reigns, then I see him holding onto the belt for a good long time. Unfortunately.

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  15. Hopefully it's evil Bryan. They're obviously not going to do anything we like with the good version we have now. So let him reinvent himself again. Maybe this time they can convince them. Though I doubt it.

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  16. He should have 2 months of feuding with Kane afterwards.

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  17. It's two months tops.


    Rollins has to cash before the next MITB which is in June. I think they like Rollins enough to give him some run with the belt.


    So I would guess


    WrestleMania: Reigns d. Lesnar


    Extreme Rules: Reigns d. Big Show in Last Man Standing (they prepped this match at house shows recently because Reigns was going to face Show at Fast Lane. Instead this gets tabled until Extreme Rules and Reigns overcomes Show's frying pan sized hands once and for all).


    Payback: Reigns d. Bryan (Rollins cashes here).


    The question is whether Rollins gets a run, or whether he gets the Edge title run where he cashed on Cena in '06 and held it for three weeks then lost it back at the next PPV.

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  18. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:08 PM

    And end with a Last Man Standing match!

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  19. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:10 PM

    They clearly have way more faith and investment in Rollins than they did Edge at the time, so I think he'll get a good solid run with the belt. He'll probably be the heel to beat for the belt at the next Mania.

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  20. Could be a year, could be a month. Remember, by all reputable accounts, Vince went from Reigns/Lesnar to Reigns/Bryan/Lesnar to (briefly) Lesnar/Bryan back to Reigns/Bryan/Lesnar back to Reigns/Lesnar in the span of a month.

    They've been anything but committed to Reigns' push as The Next Guy, so I wouldn't go trying to predict how long he'll be champ. The plan could have changed 8 times by the time you're done reading this.

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  21. If there were two world titles, there'd be two briefcase holders. So that wouldn't really change the situation too much.

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  22. You have a lot of faith in the WWE booking Cena. I'm 100% certain he's gonna get Wyatted next month.

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  23. He needs to fix a car somewhere in this for it to really work!

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  24. It's a long ways off. But my suspicion is that Mania 32 is Reigns vs. Cena supermatch and they try and give it the Rock/Austin X7 build.


    They're already painting Cena as Old Man Cena on his last legs. I could see them teasing that out the rest of the year where Cena's barely winning feuds and then wins the Rumble.


    And then one of them turns heel during the match.


    I could see Rollins win it and have Reigns do the long chase until the Rumble where Reigns finally wins it back. But they're going to do the biggest possible match they have available to them for the 100k Mania crowd. It should probably be Reigns/Cena if they build it right.

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  25. I think Lesnar is going to beat Reigns, then Rollins will immediately cash in and beat Lesnar.


    From the little WWE I have seen in 2015, the only truth is Rollins is ready for main event. Then, Rollins will have a lot of heat and a whole roster of babyfaces to headline ppvs against (Cena, Orton, Reigns, Ambrose, Bryan). The fans haven't taken to cheering for Rollins b/c he's such a great heel, so Reigns chasing him might be the best course of action.

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  26. I have no doubt that we'll get Reigns vs. Big Show for 2 months.

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  27. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:16 PM

    No. No one will ever cash in at Mania. They just refuse to do it for some reason. Probably because it makes too much sense.

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  28. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:17 PM

    Funny how everything always comes back to them not knowing how to make new stars. Right now the only legends they have to keep relying on are Big Show and Kane (and HHH but that's clearly only once a year), so that's who we keep getting in the to program...over and over and over again.
    Christ look at the last couple Mania lineups...there's never a fresh program between two new guys. Any new hot thing is always paired up with some old shit we're tired of, so you get crap like Fandango wasting a victory or Jericho, or The Shield destroying the Old Age Outlaws in a meaningless program, or Cena crushing Bray's momentum. It's a fucking miracle that Orton is on fire right now, otherwise his match with Rollins this year would be a waste too.

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  29. I just assume they've been saving it for the right scenario.

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  30. It'll be on RAW. Unadvertised.



    Because a company that laughed at WCW giving away Goldberg-Hogan on free TV would NEVER do the same thing.

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  31. If Diesel got a year, his Samoan non-union equivalent will get a year.

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  32. Dear god you're right. Remember after Bryan won the title his first fued was with Kane of all people?

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  33. People don't remember that, because Shield/Evolution was dominating the top of the card for 2 months.

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  34. They could just do it on the next nights Raw, if they're that averse to doing it at WM.

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  35. And the if that's the story it should really be something like this.


    Like I said above, Reigns wins the belt, loses it within two months to Rollins, does the long chase to win it back. Wins it back at the Royal Rumble next year.

    Cena wins at WrestleMania 31. Rusev challenges him to a blow off at Extreme Rules. Rusev just beats the shit out of him and leaves him for dead. Cena goes on vacation, and is taken off TV until at least Summerslam.


    Cena comes back and says Rusev left him broken and for the first time he doubted himself. He wasn't sure he was going to come back, but he's got to prove to himself that he can do this one last time. He's here to win the WWE championship.


    Cena starts rising up the card slowly for the rest of the year. Wins the Rumble by a hair.


    Face vs. Face Cena vs. Reigns.


    Play up whether Cena has what it takes to be WWE champion. And you either do the Austin/Rock thing where Cena knows he can't beat Reigns and makes a deal with the devil to get one last run thus doing what people have been begging for for at least five years. Or, at Cena's moment of redemption Reigns turns heel denying him and becomes a monster.

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  36. "But my suspicion is that Mania 32 is Reigns vs. Cena supermatch"

    The problem, of course, is that nobody outside of Vince McMahon sees Reigns vs. Cena as a "supermatch." Maybe in March 2015 they will, but a LOT has to happen until then.

    My problem with your above build is that they already did Cena being "I had the worst year ever, so I have to win the Rumble and face the Rock at Mania 29 in a rematch." And it didn't really work because they refused to make Cena actually look that weak.

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  37. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:22 PM

    Cena taken off TV hahahahhahha! Maybe if the Reigns experiment had worked.

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  38. Yeah, you have to weaken Cena legitimately or it's stupid.

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  39. You're probably right, but nothing would freshen him up more than disappearing for six months.

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  40. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:24 PM

    Oh indubitably. But he won't want to do it, and Vince would never allow it unless they had a replacement lined up.

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  41. There are so many more babyfaces than heels. Rollins should get a long run out of necessity alone

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  42. They don't want to make stars. Stars leave and go do other things. It's better to have a lukewarm Reigns than to have an over Bryan.


    Gotta love the E.

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  43. if they don't shoot their wad, and can keep all 3 strong, keeping the strap on Rollins till WM32 could lead to the Rollins vs Reigns vs Ambrose match everyone has been hoping for

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  44. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:26 PM

    HHH will get a title shot.

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  45. Well then the likely scenario for WM 32 is the botch Reigns. They realize they have nothing some time around October or November and they try and beg Austin to come back. When he says no, they try and beg Rock. And yeah, Rollins has a chance to become the de facto heel for it just because there's no other good ones other than Rusev, who they will no doubt squander in the next two months by not booking over Cena in the blow off.

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  46. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    Hell, they even got cold feet after giving Cesaro a big Mania win...all that uncertainty about him in the months after until Vince buried him on the podcast was just painful to watch.

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  47. He's jealous of Reign's hair.

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  48. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    Not unless they just had one briefcase and the the holder of said briefcase got to choose who he got the shot against.

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  49. The fucked up thing about all this is when Punk and Bryan won the belt they werent the focus point on raw. Punk was feuding with Jericho and obviously Bryan with Kane. John cena was with his "worst year ever" and feuding with Lesnar and freaking John Laurenitis. And it was shield versus Evolution. They were like secondary main events. You know damn well Reigns will be front and center.

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  50. I was just about to say something about that. By far that's their biggest untapped money match.

    But they don't have the discipline or foresight to build up all three guys over a year to make that match meaningful.


    So I don't think they can pull it off.

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  51. On the subject of Rollins cashing in, why hasn't Cryme Tyme been selling knock-off MITB briefcases out of the back of a van?

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  52. Guys, this is Vince we're talking about. Pettiest man in the entertainment business. We all know Reigns will be used to send a message to Triple H and NXT:
    Extreme Rules: Roman Reigns beats Adrian Neville
    Payback: Roman Reigns beats Sami Zayn
    Money in the Bank: Roman Reigns beats Kevin Owens
    Battleground: Roman Reigns beats Finn Balor

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  53. Yea I was thinking..well if they do this they need to have Reigns go over established guys..as good as Seth is new main eventer vs. new main eventer isn't the best way to establish a champion...Then I realized their established guys are Cena and Orton.....both currently faces

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  54. Disagree on the two world titles, I always hated that. They theoretically can rebound and build opponents for him but that's not just a Reigns issue. No matter who they put the title on they're going to keep facing the same dull recycled guys. I'd almost like to see them try with Ambrose due to the natural Shield connection. They always could try DB again too. Otherwise we'll just get a steady dose of Kane, Big Show, Orton and Sheamus.

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  55. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:32 PM

    3 days after Battleground: I go crazy and beat Vince to death with a waffle iron in his office in Stamford.

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  56. They have a severe lack of credible heels. Even Rusev isn't that credible. All other heels are treated like jokes outside of Rollins/Kane/Show/Rusev.

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  57. well at least they treat the faces credibly...you know like Ziggler and Bryan and Ambrose

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  58. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:34 PM

    4 days after Battleground: They put Vince's brain in a robot body like Robocop 2.

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  59. You all know damn well that Big Show or Kane will be his first opponent.

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  60. Yeah, I made this point last night. The company is really weak on the heel side outside of Triple H and Stephanie. Rusev is probably right after that, but he'll go down a peg after losing to Cena. I'm thinking they turn Bryan for a feud in the summer IF they stick with Reigns. We all know Kane and Big Show will get their title shots in the spring, which are just going to be awful pay-per-view main events and do little for Reigns. Someone joked last night that the WWE will have Reigns beat Brock and then Seth will cash in and promptly lose, an idea so crazy I could legit see them doing it in their quest to make Reigns the man come hell or high water.


    If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on another desperate Cena title run by SummerSlam when they have nothing to do.

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  61. Am I wrong, or did Big Show turn face like two weeks ago on Smackdown and it was completely ignored?

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  62. I think Big Show probably will be the first challenger based on that awesome (sarc.) feud he had with Reigns pre-Rumble.

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  63. And I'm really interested how they are going to spin the Authority into a feud with Reigns. Because we need more authority angles versus top superstar version 2,414.

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  64. The faces suck too. The majority of the roster is a muddled mess of weak faces and weak heels.

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  65. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:36 PM

    5 days after Battleground: The remains of Chris Benoit's brain mysteriously go missing...

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  66. Pointing it all out makes me realize why they have been super cool with their champion not defending the belt on half the ppvs he has been champion for.

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  67. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:37 PM

    6 days after Battleground: Every brunette within a 10 mile radius of the laboratory ends up strangled to death.

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  68. Yeah, Rollins is ready to get a bigger push. I think he'd be better as a face, though.

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  69. I'd be shocked if Big Show isn't his first feud post-Mania. They'll be able to play the "these guys have recent history" angle and it would explain the seeming inexplicable protection of Show over the last several months, particularly when it comes to Reigns.

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  70. You forgot about that awesome heel Sheamus.

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  71. 8 days after Battleground... Reigns goes over Neville, Zayn, Owens, and Ballor in a gauntlet match on RAW

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  72. and he's the most over person on the roster. Brock shows up, people know shit is about to go down.

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  73. It's like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend is more or less attractive depending on the lighting. Big Show goes from face to heel depending on the lighting where he's standing

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  74. Heel Sheamus is much better than smiling Sheamus.

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  75. What about this...because we know Reigns wins and we know the authority gets involved some how (so i"m not saying this is the best idea but hey it's different) Reigns is worried about being able to beat Brock so he has back up...the authority. They interfere screw Brock turn Reigns heel let Hunter and Steph and everyone talk for and groom Reigns you can have him feud with Orton, Cena, Bryan...whoever and it could also lead to a Rollins face turn because he's been squeezed out of the Golden Boy spot.

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  76. Well how else would they book it? I mean just having wrestlers want to fight each other for titles and more money makes no sense without a vaguely sinister authority figure to make matches on a whim without any real motivation. Next you'll think they should scale back on Kane and the big show too

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  77. Like most things on Smackdown, they probably tried it, but it didn't take!

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  78. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:41 PM

    Summerslam: ROBO-VINCE VS. CB-209 IN A LUMBERDROID MATCH.

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  79. how could something with him be ignored...hands the size of frying pans can't be ignored

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  80. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:42 PM

    They should have done a bipolar gimmick for Big Show.

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  81. Face on one show, heel on the other?

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  82. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:43 PM

    10 days before Summerslam: A shipment of nuclear weapons and titanium body armor are shipped to Titan Towers.

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  83. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:45 PM

    WrestleMania 32: Mutant Roman Reigns vs. Emperor Cena in a zombie lumberjack match.

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  84. Disagree on Shield/NAO being "meaningless" - dragging a popular team out of mothballs (as lacking in talent as they might be) to get absolutely killed to death by the new hot thing was a GREAT way to give them a rub.


    More older guys should be used like that. Just imagine Show or Kane getting absolutely trounced in three minutes by Roman, instead of what we've gotten.

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  85. I was wondering this as well. There's only so long you can run The Authority hating on the top face. Logically, Sting beating HHH should be the end of them, at least for a while, but you know how creatively bankrupt this company is.

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  86. This might hint at things to come (or might not), but the advertised post-Mania European tours feature the following talent:

    Roster 1: Cena, Ambrose, Sheamus, Rusev, Ziggler, Ryback

    Roster 2: Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Big Show, Bray Wyatt

    Daniel Bryan is not booked for the European tour, nor the England Raw/Smackdown. In fact, Bryan isn't booked for any shows from April 8 (the start of the European tour) through April 20 (RAW in Albany, first show back from the tour), which means he'll be virtually absent from all of the build shows for Extreme Rules.


    Anyone think WWE might be deliberately keeping Bryan out of the mix to give Reigns a chance to stand on his own?

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  87. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:50 PM

    Yeah, but it could have been done at Elimination Chamber, giving us that epic Shield Wyatts match in a Burbon Street Brawl at Mania which would be been that much better. Then Cena wouldn't have killed Bray's momentum.

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  88. Hopefully Rollins is the first feud, with fucking Big Show and Kane used to soften him up.

    In a perfect world, eventually this would lead to a double turn as Reigns would fit better as the Authority champion and Rollins could be money in the chase and bumping like a fool for him.

    But I also like the idea of Daniel Bryan as an Authority champion. Clean shaven and aggressive and trying to stretch people out. Possibly turning on the fans because they hate his beautiful wife or some silly reason.

    Surely they could make this work...but we'll probably get two months of Reigns-Show matches placed on the middle of PPVs.

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  89. I don't think Reigns is as unpopular as the original e-mailer is implying. WWE has three segments of its audience: kids, adult men and adult women. It seems obvious to me that Reigns is overwhelmingly popular with two of those groups (kids and women). The men is where he gets the "mixed reaction." And he's not even wholly unpopular with men, which you can tell if you simply watch the crowd during his entrance and matches. It's basically the smark men who don't like Reigns. Now what I can't say is how evenly the crowd is split between those three groups -- I assume adult men is the biggest group of the three, but if the kids and women are a big enough group to justify the push, I don't have a huge problem with a guy they're really into getting a push. A loud minority (smark men) can't get what they want every time.

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  90. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:53 PM

    Sure looks like it, yeah. Either that or his push is permanently over and he's not worth mentioning which roster he'll be on (I'm guessing 1 with a continuation of the Sheamus feud).

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  91. Oh, absolutely - that Shield/Wyatts SHOULD have been at "WM". It also would have made more sense to have Bray get a big win like that on the biggest stage BEFORE going after Cena.

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  92. They might be giving him scheduled breaks to play it safe with his health.

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  93. Theberzerker, #HUSSAPPROVEDFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:55 PM

    I see your point, but Bray didn't get the big win on his own, the team did, so that dilutes it a fair bit.

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  94. True enough, though as the leader of his team, he could at least make an argument that he was "responsible" for it.

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  95. I hope Sheamus changed up his look or something.

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  96. That was my second thought.

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  97. I'm dying for Bryan to shave that stupid beard and morph into the heel American Dragon.

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  98. WWE isn't going to have Bryan swap wins with Luke Harper at this point. They know he's a star, he's just not going to be THE star. He's probably going to be somewhere around Sheamus's level of shifting from the main event to the upper mid-card when need arises.

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  99. I think they have to run Reigns/Rollins after WM, with the drama centered around Rollins cashing in. Tease it few times before doing it. The back story is that Reigns is still pissed about the Shield, and uses the lure of the title to get Rollins to come to him.

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  100. I've seen no evidence Reigns is more overwhelmingly popular with children then Ambrose, Ziggler, or any other big face.

    He is not more popular with children than Cena or Bryan

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  101. But as the November 2014 market research has shown, only 19% of WWE's audience is under 17 and the audience is 63% male (68% male if Total Divas is taken out of the equation). Those "adult men" make up a VAST majority of the audience. In fact, 59% of the audience is 35 and older.

    Essentially, about 2/3rds of WWE's audience is adult males.

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  102. I'm glad we had this brainstorming session. I think we really nailed it guys

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  103. Rusev's dead after Cena. I know they have more plans with Lana, she's turning soon.

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  104. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 1:17 PM

    Can't be any worse than a Russo session.

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  105. Big Show or Kane is next, Bray will be too soft following a loss to a corpse and Rollins will probably be used to keep Cena busy

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  106. I agree. Reigns' internet popularity numbers, which can be faulty, but they're not great. And certainly nowhere near Cena and Bryan. I doubt he's 'overwhelmingly' popular with the kids. With the ladies, maybe. Which is a fanbase that is insignificant.

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  107. Now watching the Toilet Break on the Road to Wrestlemania. Have just finished watching opening six-man match. Honestly, I can't remember anything that just happened except for a cool Dolph Ziggler dropkick spot.


    But I can't remember anything else. I'm psyched!

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  108. Randy Orton is *really* looking like his Dad these days.

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  109. I'm gonna sound like a super smarky Cena hater, but if they had Rusev go over Cena at mania, they could do Reigns/Rusev for Summerslam.

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  110. If the numbers mentioned above are correct, 32-37 percent of your audience is not insignificant. (Though that number likely includes kids and grown females).

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  111. Somebody get Judy Bagwell on the line, STAT!

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  112. Heel Sheamus vs Reigns in an all out brawl or cage match at Extreme Rules could be decent.

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  113. Bray vs Bernie. Book it! I've been a Taker fan since day one, but that's what he may as well be now.

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  114. Turn Reigns at Mania and have him face Bryan, Super Cena, Orton and build up Ambrose & Ziggler. As anyone can see having Heyman as his mouthpiece will do wonders for Reigns and the face side is far stronger.

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  115. Again I'd have done Bryan/Lesnar then Bryan/Rollins/Oeton to carry the summer and possibly even have Roman beat Rollins for his briefcase then do Bryan/Reigns II at SS but whatevs.

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  116. I'm guessing after mania we get Reigns vs. Big show....then Reigns vs. Kane...then Reigns vs Big Show Vs. Kane...then Reigns vs. Rollins then Reigns vs. HHH...

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  117. The most important question is... who does Cena fight after Russev? Id have to guess it would be cena/reigns at summer slamb but thats in august.. Is there anyone left? Unless they turn him hee..... nah just kidding. But seriously IS there anyone?

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  118. There's always Big Show and Kane

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  119. Dumb thing is this could've easily been a US title feud after he beat Rusev at Mania.

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  120. He'll probably get rusev early on if rusev jobs to cena at mania. They did the same thing with ryback where he jobbed to Henry and then did two jobs to cena after wm29.

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  121. I think he'll feud with Rollins or sheamus.

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  122. I wondered the same thing today. Who is the #1 wrestling heel? Rollins? Wyatt?

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  123. Here's the thing --- would they have to pay Brock extra for a MITB cash-in "match"? I mean, it still technically counts as a match, right? So Brock could (in real life) ask for an extra $200K or whatever he makes to get into the ring since this would be a separate entity from the Reigns match.

    ReplyDelete
  124. The Amazing GamecockFebruary 23, 2015 at 1:52 PM

    If they were smart, Rusev would pin Cena at WM then challenge Reigns at Summerslam.

    ReplyDelete
  125. after Mania I'm sure Cena will beat Rusev in 2 gimmick matches at the next 2 ppvs

    ReplyDelete
  126. The Amazing GamecockFebruary 23, 2015 at 1:52 PM

    He will be the US Champ, so probably a Brit or something, right?

    ReplyDelete
  127. The Amazing GamecockFebruary 23, 2015 at 1:53 PM

    Gettin' that gut too!

    ReplyDelete
  128. Who will never stop watching, so who cares what they think?

    ReplyDelete
  129. You know what would've worked better than having two World titles? Building up credible challengers.

    ReplyDelete
  130. If there's a bookie taking bets on Reigns's first challenger after WM, I'd like to throw some action on Show.

    ReplyDelete
  131. I'm not kidding around.

    On the heel side, WWE will have Rollins, Rusev, Wyatt, Big Show, Kane, and possibly Sheamus

    Cena has feuded with Rollins, Rusev, and Wyatt all within the last year. There's not a whole lot of options for Cena to fight other than that.

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  132. Then have Reigns win. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy

    ReplyDelete
  133. That would require putting actual thought in the booking, and we can't have that here.

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  134. Are you sure people don't remember that? I'm pretty sure they've been complaining about it here since it happened

    ReplyDelete
  135. Average Raw ratings went from 3.3 in 2012 to 3.01 in 2013 to 2.95 in 2014 to 2.92 so far in 2015.

    It's a slow-moving decrease, but they're tuning out.

    ReplyDelete
  136. This year is not looking good.

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  137. I know it won't be popular on the blog but HHH/Reigns wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. HHH as a part timer always shows up in good shape, he can carry and guide Reigns through a 2 month feud and the matches that it entails and part time HHH always loses. Plus since we can be reasonably sure that smarks will take the anti Roman side of almost all matches, this would be one of the only matches that Roman will have the vocal majority behind him since nobody wants to see HHH holding the title in 2015.

    I think the more interesting story is what happens to Seth as opposed to what happens to Roman. They can re-heat challengers for him at any time. Heel Sheamus, rebooted Mark Henry, Rusev, Wyatt, Cena/Bryan or Orton as face vs. face at Summerslam, some kind of wacky all 3 Shield member 3 way. They'll find challengers. But what happens to Seth is more interesting since I think you want to give Roman a real nice run with the belt for his first one.



    Personally I think they piss in everyone's cheerios by teasing a Seth cashin on the Raw after mania and have him lose it, just to lampshade what usually happens on the Raw after mania.

    ReplyDelete
  138. Just redo the Batista feud. Reigns wins. HHH says Reigns fears the Pedigree. Reigns wins again. HHH leaves for a while, then returns and fucks up Reigns. HIAC challenge. Reigns beats HHH like a child.

    ReplyDelete
  139. They should turn Reigns heel and so he can go against, Bryan, Cena, Orton, Ryback, Ziggler...

    ReplyDelete
  140. Part of me thinks Hunter is saving his jobs after the Sting match so he can put over his pet NXT projects.

    Hunter vs. Kevin Owens seems like a lock to me at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  141. Let Reigns join the Authority and turn Rollins face (or tweener) and then a 3 way feud with all shield members.

    ReplyDelete
  142. Screw it, give Reigns a 3 month run with the belt, have rollins successfully cash in and put all your eggs into that basket...and try (ever so naturally) to have Reigns chase Rollins for the belt...that's how you get people to care.

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  143. What's really sad is that I'd guess almost everyone here is more emotionally invested in how the Sami Zyan / Kevin Owens fued plays out than any of the crap they have on the main shows these days. Hell I'm more interested in the next NXT women's match than most of the Fast Lane card.

    ReplyDelete
  144. Well I always hated the two world titles, BUT there could be a split, that could solve many problems:


    Roster I the Vince PC Kindergarten saturday morning Roster:
    Reigns, Cena, Big Show, Kane, Orton, Miz, New Day, Usos, Ziggler, Rowan, Matadors, Mark Henry, Khali, Sin Cara, Fandango



    Roster II the what we wrestling fans want to see on monday night Roster
    Rollins, Cesaro, Wyatt, Harper, Rusev, Bryan, Ascension, Goldust, Stardust, Swagger, Jericho, Bad News Barrett, Damien Sandow, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn


    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  145. They could get tons of mileage with more Bryan v Cena

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  146. Lets hope Roman put his dogs in the pool house sooner than later

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  147. Maybe they will take a cue from the Brock reign and not have a title match on every single episode of Rae and ever ppv. It'll be nice to actually have the champ in the building, but only having 6 or 7 defenses in a year would help obscure the lack of decent heels.

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  148. The easiest long-term ideas for a Reigns championship run are a Shield feud (book a three-way at a big show) leading to Cena vs Reigns at WM 32. Hell, you could even do the Shield at 'Mania if they rebuild Ambrose from his Looney Tunes bullshit.


    Other challengers are pretty easy: Wyatt, Rusev, Kane, Show and Trips. And that's if nobody moves up from NXT.


    Also, I think a heel Bryan would be a cool challenger down the road, but I think they want to keep him as the over mid-card act

    ReplyDelete
  149. Lesner is the only person they treat like a big deal, so he's the only person the fans think is a big deal. Funny how it works like that

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  150. The best part of Bryan's injury and Brock's holding the belt hostage is that it accidentally rebuilt the title and rarity of title matches. The title has been defended I think once, maybe twice on TV since last year's mania.

    We don't need to take it quite that far but the first title match on Raw in April or so will feel like an actual big deal.

    ReplyDelete
  151. There is nothing more boring than following a journey you don't want. I hate that part of WWE. I'm already depressed and bored picturing the inevitable scene of Reigns posing on the turnbuckle, belt in the air, confetti falling down, fireworks exploding and Michael Cole saying sweet things about Reigns.

    ReplyDelete
  152. Having two World Titles sucked balls

    ReplyDelete
  153. "Sufferin Succotash! Roman Reigns has slain the Beast Incarnate! The Roman Empire has arrived!" Something like that.

    ReplyDelete
  154. Biff Kensington Has a PosseFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:07 PM

    Having a World Heavyweight Title for SmackDown would be a card-saver for WrestleMania, because Bryan and Ziggler could begin a feud for the WHC at 'Mania and really lessen some of the bitterness over Reigns.

    ReplyDelete
  155. My guess is that Reigns holds the title through at least Survivor Series, turning back challengers like Kane, Big Show, Bray Wyatt, and Seth Rollins. They might even have him go coast to coast and defend against Cena at 32. Meanwhile, this will be the worst title reign since Diesel in '95, and many will be pressuring Vince to take the title off of Reigns before the company REALLY starts to take a nosedive. The question is, how long does Vince's stubborness hold out against reason and common sense?

    ReplyDelete
  156. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:09 PM

    ANY singles title that is exclusive to Smackdown would help, especially if it gets a champion away from the bullshit that happening on RAW.

    ReplyDelete
  157. Or they could pull their head out of their asses and stop booking the entire product so poorly.

    ReplyDelete
  158. Biff Kensington Has a PosseFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:13 PM

    Imagine if Paul Heyman got control of SmackDown again with THIS roster. Heyman could take Bryan, Ziggler, the Brass Ring Club, Ambrose and a couple of NXT Call Ups and go nuts.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:13 PM

    You want to make it easier? When they had the angle where HHH fired those wrestlers he could have just sent them to NXT. Now NXT had a mix of up and coming wrestlers and some star power.


    Let Vince turn the main roster into his retarded muscle-bound fantasy

    ReplyDelete
  160. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:14 PM

    Read what I said below. HHH said that he wanted wrestlers on the main roster to go to NXT and not think of it as a promotion. What it DBry found his way to NXT for a few months. That would make for some GREAT matches.

    ReplyDelete
  161. Who turns face for that? HHH or Owens?

    ReplyDelete
  162. Biff Kensington Has a PosseFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:15 PM

    I would cry tears of joy. Legitimate tears of legitimate joy.

    ReplyDelete
  163. "If they were smart..."

    Let me stop you right there

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  164. But then, they'd overshadow Raw and we can't have that.

    Steph would cry, then Vince would cry. Hunter laughed. He's such a little trooper.

    ReplyDelete
  165. I don't understand why they ended the Brand Extension in the first place... oh right, because the SD house shows drew terribly since they raped that show of all its dignity. But, a revamped brand split could solve a lot of problems. Let Roman Reigns defend against Big Show, Kane, and Rusev on RAW for Vince's amusement, and give Hunter Smackdown. Build around Bryan, Ziggler, Ambrose, Wyatt, etc. Vince can have his sports entertainment masturbation circus, and Hunter can produce a wrestling show for wrestling fans ala NXT, but the next step forward in eventually running the company large.

    ReplyDelete
  166. Why did you banish poor Dolph like that

    ReplyDelete
  167. I hate to break this news, and I know times change, but Hulk Hogan held the WWF Title for 4 years and LOADS of other guys on the roster got over. They didn't need to make another World Title to help Jake or Savage or Warrior or Piper or countless midcarders get over. It's embarrassing to see the parade of failures and losers littering the WWE roster today because the booking is so SO bad.

    ReplyDelete
  168. Except they are tuning out and have been over the last decade.

    This myth that only whiny Internet people hate their product has to stop.

    Raw is a terrible television show, and the fact some diehards still watch anyway doesn't make it a smart booking decision.

    Fuck, when I started posting here, almost everyone watched Raw EVERY WEEK.

    Half of them barely tune into PPV's anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  169. Sure. but that 38% loves Bryan too.

    So uhh..remind me again why we're getting Reigns, who would be demanded by no one if not for the wwe telling kids he's cool. (Which they could do with pretty much anyone.)

    ReplyDelete
  170. Then make the IC title mean something again. Make it the "workhorse" title again, and let Barrett/Cesaro/Ambrose/Ziggler/Bryan etc feud over it and treat it as prestigious again.

    ReplyDelete
  171. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:23 PM

    After people feuded with Hogan they found other things to do, like form tag teams or go after the IC title (which was not viewed as a demotion)


    Back then the bookers actually booked things outside of the main even scene and it made sense.

    ReplyDelete
  172. Looking at those names, I find myself thinking, "I wish they had more attractions or more guys who don't need the belt." They don't it anymore!



    A guy like Jake was always ensuring the comeuppance of weaselly or unjust wrestlers. Piper could be counted on for emotional brawls. Even Taker throughout his career could be counted on for slaying monsters. Does any non-main eventer have any kind of role other than "get screwed by the authority" and "trade wins for IC title"?

    ReplyDelete
  173. That would be lovely

    ReplyDelete
  174. I don't think they need two world titles.

    They need midcard titles that are worth something.

    NJPW has what? 1 world title, 2 main event level titles, 2 or 3 (YMMV) worthwhile upper mid card titles, and then 1 or 2 lower midcard belts that are all currently being treated with some semblance of dignity.

    And the WWE can't book TWO titles that aren't jokes at the same time. Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
  175. When Cody reintroduced the old school belt design, I thought they were going to do something nice with it. How wrong I was.

    ReplyDelete
  176. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:26 PM

    They have a ready-made feud with Cena and Barrett. Cena has never held that title and there is history between them.

    ReplyDelete
  177. BRAND EX-TEN-SION CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

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  178. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:29 PM

    Yep. NJPW IC Title > WWE IC Title.

    ReplyDelete
  179. And, I don't see how the IC title would be beneath Cena, although they'd probably try to spin it that way. Cena could be the cagey veteran with the belt, and someone like Cesaro or Ambrose could get the rub from beating Cena for the IC title and have a long run fending off challengers while being groomed for potential World title matches/feuds.

    ReplyDelete
  180. They have so many successes and failures to learn from, but they choose not to look at the past because "the business is evolving," "millennials," "catering to entire families (like Disney)."

    ReplyDelete
  181. It'd seriously be perfect. The WWE doesn't want Bryan to succeed so they can send him to their "B" show. Have Reigns and Cena point at signs for the entire three hours on Raw and shake hands. I can enjoy good WWE wrestling on Thursday.

    ReplyDelete
  182. Stephanie and her fucking "branding". Branding huh? Where Terry Funk when we need him?

    ReplyDelete
  183. Aside from the select few, everyone is a big useless loser. From Fastlane - Ziggler, Ryback, Rowan, Goldust, Stardust, Barrett, Ambrose, Kidd, Cesaro, Usos, Kane - all a bunch of failures in kayfabe terms

    ReplyDelete
  184. I said in a different thread- I always liked the brand split and was not a fan of it ending for many reasons including the possibility that if one title picture sucked, there was a chance for the other to bail it out (like HHH and Scott Steiner saving the show for Angle and Benoit)

    Even whenRaw would just talent raid Smackdown each year, there would always be an adjustment and then they would produce new stars- because they had to). The problem was once they started mixing the rosters it stopped making any sense.

    Take all the guys Vince clearly refuses to care about and toss them over as a new version of the Sackdown Six- it's not like WWe gives a shot about the show anyway...just hand it over to the "nerds" and hope they stop bothering Vibce with their free will and personal opinions

    Basically NXT on s bigger scale

    ReplyDelete
  185. it's frustrating because even in the old days while the WWF Title was the biggest prize, just holding a belt was considered prestigious by the commentators. Certainly, in the office Hogan was considered "above" the belt, but no way would the company say that to the fans.


    We all know kayfabe is dead, but a little kayfabe can go a long way toward making people feel like the company cares about people not named John Cena

    ReplyDelete
  186. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    That is why I miss the old NWWA/JCP days. Sting would wrestle Ric Flair for the World title this week, then go after the TV or US belt next week. It wasn't seen as a demotion. All the the belts were important, because they were seen as a way to get to the World title.

    ReplyDelete
  187. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:32 PM

    ...or, HHH "fires" a bunch of wrestlers and they show up on NXT.

    ReplyDelete
  188. I hated the brand extension. I don't think that's the answer. The same monkeys who write a shitty raw every week would write a shitty smackdown as well.

    ReplyDelete
  189. N-X-T!


    N-X-T!


    N-X-T!

    ReplyDelete
  190. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonFebruary 23, 2015 at 3:33 PM

    Paul didn't write a shitty Smackdown.

    ReplyDelete
  191. Yup, Sting lost the World title back to Flair. Then, won a U.S. title tournament, had a hot feud with Rick Rude and the Dangerous Alliance, dropped the U.S. title to Rude, but got the World title back against Luger. No reasons Cena couldn't do something similar.

    ReplyDelete
  192. but Heyman will never be brought back to creative. Just listening to Steph talk about not trusting him on his own DVD makes me think she really doesn't like him

    ReplyDelete
  193. Because, Heyman is all about that yucky wrestling. Stephanie wants to put smiles in people's faces. Which lead to my profile pic.

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  194. I agree, and it's no reflection on their actual ability or even fan reactions (for instance, for whatever reason, Ziggler appears to be bulletproof because the fans still cheer and still know he's going to lose).


    Look at the 80s and 90s and you had guys who were successful and didn't need the belt. They would have a new spotlighted feud and they would be viewed as the favorite to overcome the opposition because they were successful--Jake, Piper, Bossman, Taker, Bret (who got the belt but didn't need it to win a feud), and even some of their tag teams.

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  195. Any IWGP title > WWE IC title.

    ReplyDelete
  196. Cornette had a tweet yesterday that made me laugh talking about how the Memphis crowd was silent because they don't cheer for "sport entertainment," they cheer for wrestling

    ReplyDelete

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