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The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW - 03.25.96

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 03.25.96

Taped from San Antonio, TX

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

There’s a sexual content warning on this show. Man, Vince’s love of Shawn Michaels is really getting out of hand.


Shawn Michaels v. Leif Cassidy

Amazingly, Al Snow’s super-dork persona actually was the one that stuck for a while. Shawn introduces Jose Lothario officially here and all the audience members have to pretend to be excited to have a bald old Mexican guy with the hot new babyface star. Also, he appears to be wearing a referee’s shirt. Bret joins us on commentary (and Lawler runs away) as Shawn controls with armdrags. Both guys try a bodyblock and Shawn ends up on top for two, and he goes back to the arm. Kind of funny to hear Vince actually trying to call the match before going back to his usual stream of nonsense. Shawn tries a leapfrog and gets powerbombed, and Cassidy gets a uranage for two. And now Marty comes to ringside for moral support as we take a break. We return with Shawn somehow bleeding now as Cassidy gets a suplex and goes to the chinlock. Bret wins the internet by noting “Shawn’s at a disadvantage after taking a vicious beating from nine cheerleaders in Syracuse”. Leif tries to hotshot Shawn from the powerbomb position and nearly breaks his neck, and that was nearly a giant disaster on a lot of levels. Holy crap, I’m surprised Vince didn’t stop the match and scream at him right there. Leif gets a superplex for two, but tries another one and gets blocked. Bret’s take: “I have a lot of respect for Mexican wrestlers, but rolling around in a ball doesn’t mean you’re tough.” Shawn comes back with a flying clothesline and a pretty nasty atomic drop, but Marty trips him up with spectacular timing. Cassidy misses a charge, however, and Shawn puts him away with a superkick at 10:44. Really good TV match, with things getting a bit nasty at the end. ***1/4

Hunter Hearst Helmsley v. Aldo Montoya

In hyping the Ultimate Warrior’s return, the graphic for Wrestlemania VIII shows attendance of 62,000. In what universe?! HHH pounds on Aldo and drops a knee for two. More irony as Vince says Wrestlemania will be tons of action, without some guy beaking about making $30 million and only having an 8 minute match. Instead we got Warrior beaking about making a bunch of money and then doing a 30 second squash. Aldo fights back with a bodypress for two and uses the PORTUGESE MARTIAL ARTS for two, and a flying bodypress gets two. Pedigree finishes at 5:01, however. Dull match. *

Meanwhile, somewhere in Hollywood, Goldust molests a Roddy Piper mannequin and then smashes it. Well, you always hurt the one you love.

Next week: MANKIND

Undertaker has words for Diesel, as you can see him start to get more comfortable without Paul Bearer talking for him.

Bret Hart v. Shawn Michaels: The Hard Sell. I would like to point out that there is nothing remotely as interesting or compelling hyping up this year’s show. Between this and the previous Undertaker segment they were trying their darnedest to talk you into buying that show. It still flopped, but they TRIED.

Owen Hart v. Ahmed Johnson

Vince fights a two-front war on commentary, noting that you’re not going to get ripped off like that yucky boxing stuff, and you’re not going to watch the over-the-hill gang like WCW. WWF is everything to everyone, apparently. Ahmed overpowers Owen, but Bulldog heads down to ringside and Owen uses the distraction to attack. Owen goes up and gets caught in something vaguely resembling a spinebuster and we take a break. Back with Bulldog running in for the DQ at 5:45. Nothing match, which seemed to happen frequently with this feud. ½* Vader comes in to complete the heel beatdown, but Yoko and Jake make the save and we will see YOU at Wrestlemania 12!

The Pulse

Well, they tried.

Comments

  1. The Brock negotiations have in a weird way added the level of drama missing in the actual in-ring feud, because it puts all three possible outcomes -- Roman wins, Brock wins, Seth cashes in on whoever wins and I think that's still a Mania possibility -- in play. That's a lot better than WM29 where all the winners in the card were incredibly obvious going in.

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  2. It was pretty nice of Shawn to give the New Rockers good competitive matches whereas everyone else treated them like jobbers.

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  3. I will echo that at least during this time, even with finances out the wazoo and a depleted roster, they were at least trying to still make WrestleMania seem like an important show. Undertaker-Nash was one of the last few "dream matches" that hadn't taken place (to my knowledge), and Bret-Shawn had yet to be done with both competitors on equal footing. (My personal favorite Bret-Shawn match is Survivor Series'92, but they weren't on even ground yet). What "dream matches" do we have this year outside of possibly HHH-Sting? I don't think anybody except Vince has been dreaming of Reigns-Lesnar.

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  4. Vince has the grass skirt ready to go. As far as a repackage, maybe they'll think of something

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  5. He needs to get his ass kicked, but show that he has heart. He should ALMOST win, but get pinned by/submit to Lesnar in the end. Be like Austin and win by losing.

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  6. If he were to lose, the only logical step would be to turn him heel, using the fan reactions as his motivation. The first program would be obvious, and that's against Dean Ambrose. From there you can go IC title against Bryan, again with a built-in reason for the pairing.

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  7. They really need to NOT announce whether Brock signs a new contract until after WM. It's in their best interest to keep people guessing.

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  8. Who would be Brock's next opponent if he were to re-sign? I can't think of a single person who wouldn't be a total mismatch. Perhaps the Rock? Sheamus perhaps?

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  9. Agreed. However it plays out, it can't leak either way.

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  10. Theberzerker, #1 HUSS CHOMPIONMarch 24, 2015 at 11:15 AM

    I'll post it again...My dream fix for the finish of Wrestlemania: Lesnar beats Reigns in a decent power match. The announcers start talking about how Brock is unstoppable, Reigns grabs the mic, says something to effect of "Yknow, if you don't do the job right the first time...there's always a plan B." Heyman upon hearing that, eyes wide with dawning realization, immediately wheels around, starts screaming at Brock, who turns and gets cracked in the head with a chair shot (protected of course) by Ambrose. Rollins runs out, cashes in, curb stomps Brock on the chair and wins the title. Show ends with the reformed Shield posing in the ring as a Horsemen type group protecting champ Rollins...maybe at the behest of HHH, maybe not.

    The logic with Reigns is a little weird, but overall it gives the fans something they want to see, and turns Brock into a de facto face when/if he returns.

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  11. He is a shitty face and needs to be turned. Even in his interviews outside the ring, he comes across as an entitled shit.

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  12. Reigns winning and flopping would just make everyone tremendously sad - the people who backed him to succeed would be disappointed, the people who knew he wouldn't would sigh the biggest collective sigh of all time at all the time we knew would be wasted.


    On the other hand Reigns losing would be supremely unexpected and as we saw last year with Brock/Taker, unexpected = awesome

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  13. I can't imagine Trips/Sting being anyone's "dream match," even in either guys' prime. Maybe it's H's dream, because he'll finally be able to pull out all the stops and go full-on Flair imitation.

    Come to think of it, I don't know if Triple H vs. ANYONE has ever been a "dream match."

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  14. Heyman frea king out yelling at Brock to get the fuck out of there is my favourite part of this.

    You just know he'd kill it

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  15. WWF faces just don't sell. It's less fun.

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  16. Heyman being outsmarted? The McMahons would like it, but is that really believable?

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  17. Theberzerker, #1 HUSS CHOMPIONMarch 24, 2015 at 11:19 AM

    By his own arrogance. It's believable at least, esp. right after a big win like that.

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  18. ...dare we still say Daniel Bryan...

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  19. I've been saying it since last summer...they have built exactly ONE guy as a top star in the last year and it's been Seth Rollins. They've never had a MIT cash-in at WrestleMania. I would be stunned if he didn't cash in on Reigns at the end of the show.

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  20. I'm not going to lie, the idea of a Shield reformation to steal the title from Brock to end WM31 makes me sexually aroused.

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  21. Theberzerker, #1 HUSS CHOMPIONMarch 24, 2015 at 11:21 AM

    You know how I know it works? I thought if it while on the toilet :D

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  22. True. The guy has a habit of sticking himself into story lines and angles where he must be thinking "This angle is super-hot, but it needs more HHH." Summer of Punk is a good example, but even Eugene was given the "honor" of working with HHH.

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  23. Anything other than a total massacre would be damaging to Lesnar's aura of invincibility. Bryan has no business being around Lesnar.

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  24. "BROOOCCKKK!!! BROOOCCKKK!!!"

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  25. "In hyping the Ultimate Warrior’s return, the graphic for Wrestlemania VIII shows attendance of 62,000. In what universe?!" Scott, wasn't the paid attendance for the Hoosier Dome show about 42,000 and the rest were comps to about 60,000?? I know the upper tiers were half empty for the 72,000 dome

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  26. Brock locks in the "Stretch Muffler", Reigns passes out but doesn't submit?

    Works for me.

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  27. Ambrose was on equal footing with him until he jobbed to a hologram. Sad face.

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  28. I think Bryan's on the short list of people who could believably be booked to beat Lesnar. I say "believably" in a pro wrestling setting, of course. I have no problem buying Bryan's technical skill and speed beating Lesnar. Reigns? Not so much.

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  29. I thought they had 62,000 there as well. Doesn't seem like a lie to me.

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  30. Randy orton flopped and has been boring ever since he debuted and he's still around, so maybe there is hope for reigns too

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  31. Nash vs. Hogan did happen for real at road wild 99. Sadly, Nash wouldn't let Hogan slam him.

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  32. He also gets one of the biggest pops in the company when his music hits.

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  33. I can't wait to see what the crowd has in store for the Main Event. Chanting for Bryan? Destroying Reigns? Will they want Y2J, Savage or Hogan?

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  34. Speed is probably the only advantage that Bryan would have over Brock. It would be comparable to the Eddie Guerrero feud I guess. But remember that the beating that Cena took at Summerslam was destined to be Bryan's before the injury. The bookers already had pencilled in the slaughter as part of their plans as they clearly view Bryan beneath Lesnar.

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  35. CM Punk

    CM Punk

    CM Punk

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  36. Orton and Batista recovered from not drawing as champs in their first reigns. Diesel. Did Bret or Shawn really draw in their first reigns? If he's really flopping (given how poor the build has been, it wouldn't surprise me if his ER opponent is Big Show), have Rollins successfully cash-in in June to screw Reigns, who would then take some time off and hopefully come back hot.


    Having him lose after this (especially with all of the chances they previously had to abort) would remind me of Ryback losing to Punk at Hell in a Cell, though it wouldn't be quite as bad if Brock wins cleanly.


    The portion of the crowd that cheers at him house shows can drown out the boos of the anti-Reigns part of the fanbase if they book him like an ass-kicker on TV, even if that leads the anti-Reigns group to keep complaining about "Reigns being shoved down our throats!"

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  37. Sure, that's what was going to happen. But it didn't. Everyone is viewed as "beneath" Lesnar, and rightly so. But if not Sunday, he's going to lose eventually to someone.

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  38. Assuming Undertaker's too old and broken to work with Sting's limitations Triple H is really the only guy left as far as "dream matches" for Sting go.

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  39. Theberzerker, #1 HUSS CHOMPIONMarch 24, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    How awesome would it be if Punk had purchased like a 3-4th row seat months ago in secret, shows up in secret, and when that chant breaks out he stands up in his section and goes "WHAT?!!?"
    At least that half of the stadium would catch on and go NUT.

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  40. Critical distinction: Randy Orton can wrestle.

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  41. Yes true. At some point he has to lose. The Shield scenario discussed above is actually quite intriguing.

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  42. I could see more of a CM Punk style turn for Reigns. Like you said, have it be an even battle that Brock wins clean. The fans won't have a problem turning Brock face in this scenario -- he will already be a face. But because he lost, after all this "I can. I will" build up, Reigns now doubts himself. And when Rollins comes in to screw Brock out of the title....Reigns just stands there and watches. And then when it seems like Brock simply CAN'T be put down, Reigns does something to cost him the match -- out of pure bitterness that he lost when he was so sure he was the better man. You can have Ambrose come down and confront Reigns, but you don't necessarily have to (you can build the drama of whether or not Ambrose is with them. Then have Rollins stand there with the title, face to face with Reigns (and Ambrose, if he fits into the scene) and extend his fist. Have Reigns (and Ambrose) contemplate as they go off the air. The big question will be -- is the Shield back together?

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  43. Will take your word for that as I don't watch the product all that closely now, and when I see him or hear his music I generally change the channel since he's about as exciting as watching grass grow.

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  44. Odds on if San Jose starts pelting the ring with garbage when Roman wins like it was WCW in 1997?

    It would at least make Sting feel at home sort of.

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  45. He's very competent, even if boring and generic. I think Reigns is competent too though, he's proven he can be alright in the ring. Having said that, I'm not at all interested in watching him win the title

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  46. Sometimes. There have been plenty of times where his music drew complete silence, too.

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  47. I don't think he needs to be sent away for a while and repackaged. They just need to let him become more violent and moody and kick people's asses without mercy. A mean streak and competent booking is all Roman Reigns really needs.

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  48. It's the same math they used to get 93,000 in Pontiac.

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  49. And what if Paul Heyman turns on Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania to become Roman Reigns' mouthpiece?

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  50. One more HHH/ROCK match is a dream of mine.

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  51. Eh, somewhat, but so could Charlie Haas, Alex Porteau, and plenty of other guys - there more to being a good wrestler than just executing moves and holds.

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  52. I think it would go over as well as Curtis Axel.

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  53. UFC! UFC! UFC!

    Seriously, those fans are going to eat that match alive.

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  54. I feel like that's your best bet. Then You can sacrifice Cena to Roman without having to turn him heel.

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  55. Heyman turning on Lesnar and managing Reigns is the only way to salvage this I believe.

    The have botched Reigns thing SO badly it's going to take him a long time to recover. The Juggernaut!, The Powerhouse!, The Big Dog! Looney Tunes quotes! He's still in the The Shield for some reason! Just so many reasons why he's not going to fly but could have with a little more proper care. Scott said it in his Royal Rumble 2015 rant and I believe it's true now: This man is being sent out there to die.



    If Reigns wins and his first challenger is Kane or Big Show I think I may not watch another WWE production in 2015. I'm serious.

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  56. Not necessarily - Brock was going over either way, but it's possible that the match itself could have been laid-out differently.

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  57. Yeah. Outside of Lesnar what was the last Heyman Guy to do anything of significance?

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  58. Although I prefer the Shield scenario below, if Lesnar doesn't re-sign I can see Heyman turning on Lesnar to help Reigns win the title. Then Sheamus comes back to challenge Reigns for the title in a hoss vs. hoss fight. Heel/face alignments are about right, and you would have a strong heel champion at the top of the card with numerous faces to challenge him (Bryan, Ziggler, Cena, Sheamus, Ambrose, etc...). I just don't know how Rollins would fit into the equation.

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  59. Exactly dude. That's the most fascinating part of the match.

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  60. I liked the Ryback/Heyman pairing, but I may be in the minority.

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  61. Heyman turning OR reuniting The Shield.

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  62. Probably because he IS an entitled shit.

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  63. CM Punk was already there

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  64. Bow about both? Heyman IS the one to reunite The Shield.

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  65. So the question should be: "Who was the last guy that Heyman successfully elevated?" And that answer is a big blank.

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  66. It really makes no sense, but I would still need a napkin and a cigarette.

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  67. Bitter Bret Hart was fantastic

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  68. Well Heyman was the one to bring the Shield to the WWE in the first place to protect CM Punk from Ryback, so....

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  69. We'll never know for sure, but for sure they would have wanted Lesnar to go over strong.

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  70. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANMarch 24, 2015 at 11:58 AM

    Yeah, Heyman was just an anchor on Punk in the quest to see how much of a heel he'd have to be, to be accepted as a heel.

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  71. I was there for VIII and vaguely remember it being pretty full. How papered it was I could not tell you. But that number is probably as legit as you're going to get from WWE.

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  72. Who gives a shit about Lesnar's aura

    He won't be there tomorrow. Jesus it's wrestling but people talk like Brock is legitimately competing with these people.

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  73. It was a good pairing but in the long term it seemed to maybe even set him back.

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  74. I wonder how much of that is Heyman vs what Heyman is instructed to do.

    He can't help Cesaro if he is never booked to talk about him--hell the first like, week with him dubbing him the king of swing was precisely what he should be doing

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  75. In terms of helping guys that weren't main-eventers, there's really only Axel, Ryback, and Cesaro to choose from in this latest run. Axel is/was a lost cause, and Ryback is pretty polarizing. Cesaro SHOULD and COULD have benefited, but with always being booked to lose, the weird tweener status, the awful new music, and his manager never actually talking about him (no clue if that was more on Vince or Hey man, but I definitely suspect Vince), they somehow missed a can't-miss thing.

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  76. Repost of an idea I posted a few days ago:

    Idea for if Brock isn't coming back and Reigns wins at WM: Have Heyman come out and say he is looking for a new wrestler, so he is holding a tournament to find a new protege. Maybe Ambrose wins. Then as Heyman comes out, congratulates him and challenges Reigns on Ambrose' behalf. Reigns comes out, Heyman turns on Ambrose and sides with Roman, because all Heyman cares about is being with a winner. Then Reigns can get the benefit of Heyman backing and we get a nice few weeks of Ambrose vs Heyman on the mic and Roman can just stand there and look tough.

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  77. Oh, the BOOKERS view him as below. The fans would have bought three knees to the face ending Lesnar's reign at WM hook line and sinker

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  78. I like it. There really are several good options (Reigns/Heyman heel turn, Lesnar retaining, Rollins cash-in, Shield reunites). Too bad they'll probably just go with Reigns winning and then feuding with Big Show.

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  79. Oh, definitely, but they'd really have to ret-con a lot.

    The best they could probably do is to just say that they realized they were more effective as a team, and have reunited to make more money together. Or something.

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  80. While he's here, they clearly want Brock to be a special attraction, and losing to Bryan would completely not serve the purpose, unless Lesnar was to job on his way out, but then you know that it won't be to Bryan. Tell me you're not one of those people still upset that Bryan is not main eventing? That boat has sailed. The WWE made that message very clear. Move on.

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  81. Orton and Bryan are still fresh and exciting match-ups.

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  82. Because they run a multi-million dollar corporate empire to please the fans.

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  83. He really is the complete opposite of Bryan's story last year with the dimly lit indy footage in the promo package.

    Guy who had to work for everything when even ROH saw him as their B+ player for years before giving him his big run

    Reigns gets handed a super stable to protect his faults and pushed to mania less than 5 years into his career as a wrestler

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  84. The boat may have sailed, but that doesn't mean that we can't be upset about our new inferior boat.

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  85. Yep. The Lesnar contract negotiations are by far the most interesting part of this feud.

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  86. Thank you. I get the ship has sailed and I'm not here to bitch it should be changed

    But I won't be watching mania this year.

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  87. lol. "Uhm, my boat seems to have a rather large hole. I would like a new one please." "You will take what we give you, and you will like it!"

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  88. That's the beauty of choice. I too will not be watching. I don't need to spend my rare free time on something that I won't enjoy.

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  89. I don't want to see Heyman turn on Brock in favor of Reigns. I don't think this helps Reigns as a face or a heel. Heyman may be a great mouth piece, but he doesn't bring heat for those he manages. For all his heeling that Brock beat the streak, destroyed Cena, and kidnapped the belt, Brock is pretty much universally loved.

    If you want Reigns to turn heel, he needs somebody like Stephanie as his manager.

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  90. I'm 100% certain that Heyman can play us like a fiddle, and if he wants to generate hate, he will generate rage.

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  91. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANMarch 24, 2015 at 12:10 PM

    In match if you were going to do something to make Reigns look courageous, you'd have Brock break his arm but Reigns continues.

    It's a built in excuse to lose to either Brock or Rollins. I just don't think Reigns is a good enough worker.

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  92. That Jose Lothario stuff was so damn random. Eleven-year-old Dynamic Dave thought he was some sort of legend. Really he just looked like a balding Edward James Olmos.

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  93. He is almost too good. Even his hate is that cool-heel, love to hate, sort.

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  94. I think he saved Brock - remember him cutting promos after his return in 2012? Awful.

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  95. Brock is not universally loved. This seems like echo chamber, the guy got boo'd in all but the Cena matches.

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  96. It's the quality of the performer, and our starvation of such quality in the overall product, that will keep us cheering for Heyman.

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  97. Heyman doing the talking and Lesnar doing the ass kicking is BEYOND perfect ...

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  98. I guess my thing is that I've never cared enough about Triple H to picture any dream matches for him. The only times I ever cared for his ring work was against Foley and with Austin vs. Jericho and Stevie Richards, and that's primarily due to who he was working with more than anything else. He did well against Bryan last year, but again, this is Bryan "Daniel Bryan" Danielson we're talking about... and at this stage, I don't want to see Sting or Undertaker wrestle anyone, period.

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  99. When it's all shit, you cheer for what is high quality.

    When it's all high quality, you might invest in the good guy.

    Makes sense to me

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  100. I want to see that thing dangling there, lifeless and contorted, before I sympathy cheer for Roman Reigns.

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  101. I wouldn't mind that, maybe throw Austin in there for a triple threat if he's ever going to wrestle again, possibly with Foley as the ref... but I'd just as soon rather never see Rock or Triple H wrestle again. Now that Punk's gone, I guess I can say that for Austin too.

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  102. Steph brings high quality interviews and gets good heel heat.

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  103. Lol. Pontiac waa literally sold out though (78,0000). Hoosier ticket sales were still only 37,000 paid by the final week

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  104. I would say she used to, but she is starting to get very stale. At least to me.

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  105. As awesome as that would be, I don't think he'd be allowed in the building. Punk going incognito would be tough, unless he was wearing a Halloween Havoc Rey Mysterio style full-body costume.

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  106. Reigns forgiving Rollins is believable. It would be a much tougher sell for Ambrose, who was beside himself for months after the betrayal.

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  107. This is true. I'm fondly remembering around SummerSlam when she was gold as a heel who you actually hated.

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  108. Rollins could join the game of jobber-belt keepaway.

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  109. It isn't a lie. They were saying on TV before Mania VIII that the Hoosier Dome could hold over 70,000, which is true, and looking at the crowd, 10,000 empty seats would be about right.

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  110. WrestleMania VIII

    April 5, 1992 in Indianapolis, IN
    Hoosier Dome drawing 62,167 ($1,250,000)
    Shown live on PPV (2.3)



    From prowrestlinghistory.com

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  111. Just watched the epic belt tug it was as retarded as eeverybody said. Remember when Brock returned and just punched Cenas face open?

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  112. Yeah, but then Cena pinned him clean, soo....

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  113. Hindsight says they should've left the belt on diesel and done the gfbe match at wm.

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  114. I don't think Reigns is the lost cause that he is made to be on here. He gets strong reactions, its just more a Cena type reaction at this point. He's not getting a crickets response.

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  115. For the Shield reunion to really mean something I think they need to wait 2-3 more years at least.

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  116. I'm sorry, this is "Mindless Reigns bashing", I believe you're looking for "Level-headed discussions", which is next door.

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  117. But it made the match seem like it was going to be special, this was just weak.

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  118. I disagree. It's one thing to go off reactions, but we have proof in the ratings that Reigns isn't Appealing to the Fanbase.

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  119. I don't look at the numbers close enough, are his segments tanking? You can't just use RAW overall because hardly any shows recently have truly been built around him and Lesnar.

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  120. He's getting the Cena reaction but by SEVERAL magnitudes lower

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  121. That happened mostly during his boring as hell heel title run, because people knew he was just filling time until he dropped the title to Batista or Bryan at Mania. As soon as he acted in any sort of babyface-like way, he got huge pops again.

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  122. He's been at this level for less than a year.

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  123. In that he whacked him with a chain. Bad decision, but it's not like he jobbed to the firemans carry.

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  124. on the roads they are on Ambrose and Reigns won't be worth SHIT when in 2 to 3 years

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  125. Break the superman punch arm. I like it.

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  126. You don't get to that level until you have those reactions.

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  127. In a reversal of fortune, Heyman turns on Brock because his check bounced.

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  128. Well you actually get to that level when Vince decides you do, now whether or not you stick is a different story.

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  129. I haven't seen a quarter hour breakdown, but the numbers have suffered greatly the last two months to the point the show is averaging under 4 million viewers. So either Reigns is a drag or the direction of the show is seriously lacking. Either way, it's just not a good sign.

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  130. That Powerbomb Upfuck by Snow is just nasty looking.

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  131. or Diesel gets the belt back in the Feb cage match with Bret

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  132. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonMarch 24, 2015 at 12:45 PM

    This is where the lack of blood hurts the WWE.

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  133. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonMarch 24, 2015 at 12:45 PM

    Or a Bella twin.

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  134. Yeah paid was somewhere between 30 and 40. I'm kind of shocked they found 20000 freebies.

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  135. Brock wins on Sunday, holds the title for another year... and Austin challenges for the belt at next year's WM in Texas.

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  136. Imagine if Wrestlemania goes off the air with a close-up of an absolutely bloodied Roman Reigns, lying lifeless on the ground, his clothes in complete tatters as if mauled by a bear, as Brock stands above him with the WWE title above his head, Heyman in the background with a maniacal grin, and fireworks going off in the distance. I would watch the fuck out of RAW the next night.

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  137. Anyone know if Brock re-signed?

    Anyway. Reigns will kick out the f5, pin Brock with one spear, and then feud with Kane (with and without mask), heel sheamus and the big show.

    Believe that.

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  138. Oh, that reminds me... Sheamus didn't actually return yet, did he?


    I still pick him to win the Andre thing.

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  139. I'm not anti-Reigns by any means... but he cannot hold his own at this point at any level.

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  140. Wrestlemania III was a legit 93,173 attendance...the Silverdome held 80,000/84,000 for football and every seat was filled at the event...there were EASILY 6,000 - 9,000 people on the field sitting during the event itself...

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  141. what if they did it Angle-Benoit style, where Reigns comes up just short--obviously a different style match, but that might get Reigns over while Lesnar retains, and then if it works, Reigns gets his rematch around Summerslam, and if not no big deal, you just recalibrate and get Ambrose ready for next year.

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  142. I like this as well. It's actually better than the Heyman turn on Brock. It gives Reigns some character development, gives him a chance to tell a story in the ring, and gets fans something to invest in. But, Reigns has to lose. Otherwise, it's #LOLRomanWins

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  143. I think they go full Cena with Reigns and push him to the moon regardless of crowd reaction. The difference being Cena is a world class wrestler and Reigns is still very mediocre. Deep down we all respect Cena.

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  144. This guy gets it.

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  145. I'd rather see Lesnar win.....Rollins go for cash in with help from Kane, Big Show, J+J....ref and HHH run in....Reigns wipes out Rollins and takes the case...HHH amends the rules with 9/10 of the law is possession...blah blah....Reigns cashes in and gets the belt and becomes the Authority's "Chosen One". Seth gets a face turn in the process and becomes Bryan 2.0 fighting against the Authority to the get the title stolen from him. Meanwhile, Bryan helps elevate the IC belt by taking on all comers and Rusev sends Cena on vacation for a few months to run wild with the US Title.

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  146. Reigns is going to win on Sunday. Why wouldn't he? Vince clearly doesn't care about fan reactions getting in the way of his vision, so why is that going to change? He's going to go down on the Roman Reigns ship until at least SummerSlam.

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  147. Everyone knew that Bryan was just keeping the belt warm for a "real" main-eventer, but he got the loudest pops of the year instead of total silence.

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  148. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:04 PM

    That's the key, because as much as we give Cena the Character shit for the goofy promos and whatnot, Cena the Wrestler BRINGS IT consistently and rarely has an outright bad match. Reigns is mediocre in the ring and has negligible natural charisma, so pushing him to the moon will result in hostile crowds AND ** matches. Not a good combo.

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  149. OK, here are some pics:

    The usual Wrestlemania III view: http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/Dougq8/wm3match.jpg

    Alternate Wrestlemania III view: http://info.detnews.com/pix/news/2007/wrestlemania3_02082007/w-silverdome.jpg

    2nd alternate view of Wrestlemania III: http://members.shaw.ca/wrestling-brent/Wrestlemania3Crowd.jpg


    Now here's Pope John Paul 2's visit to the Silverdome in 1987. The attendance was 93,682 (sorry the pic is small):
    http://i2.wp.com/www.themichigancatholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/12-mass-easton.jpg

    Fish eye view of the Pope's visit: http://www.clickondetroit.com/image/view/-/16668326/highRes/1/-/h/360/w/640/-/15ricb1/-/View-of-Silverdome-during-Pope-visit-jpg.jpg

    Now I'm sorry, but you can't tell me that there were 18,000+ people at the Pope's visit than at Wrestlemania III...too be honest, it could easily be argued there ar emore people at Wrestlemania III than at the Pope's visit later that year...

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  150. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:09 PM

    Part of me wonders if Reigns is being deliberately sabotaged as part of a larger plan. But wHHHo could possibly benefit from making Vince look so out of touch?

    ReplyDelete
  151. I really dug his matches with HBK and Flair (Taboo Tuesday) when they happened.


    HHH/Orton has always sucked for some reason, but HHH/Batista was a big deal. So was HHH/Cena at the time.


    If Foley could still go I would mark the fuck out for another HHH/Cactus match.


    And while I wouldn't have penned it as a "dream match" beforehand, HHH/Bryan was fucking awesome and I was almost sad that we didn't get any rematches.

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  152. Are you trolling or just Basil Devito? that number was debunked by Zane Bresloff, the actual promoter of the event. Meltzer confirmed it. 78000 tix were sold legit--vince had the 93,000 number in his head before the event just so he can claim the record forever (in reality the building only held 75-80 max, so the fake number could never be broken).

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  153. I agree with this 100%. I think Seth attempts to cash in on Raw and loses. I also think Roman tanks in glorious fashion ala Alberto, Swagger, and Sheamus and Brock murders him at Summerslam to end the experiment once and for all.

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  154. Is he moving merch? Is there even any merch? I've not seen any "b'leed dat!" Shirts in any of the clips I've seen.

    ReplyDelete
  155. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:12 PM

    "Well, we told you he was a lunatic."

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  156. Reigns is probably at the same level as a worker than Cena was when he won in 2005.

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  157. The Pope visited the Silverdome later that year and had 93,682 people at the event...you saying the Pope and the Vatican lied? lol

    The Pontiac Silverdome can hold a max of about 82,000 people for football alone...

    ReplyDelete
  158. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:15 PM

    I was torn about the whole "Shield Reunites!" ending, but after last night I think it's the only way to salvage this mess. Reigns isn't Cena, and this fan apathy is going to do real damage to his career before it really gets started. Going back to The Shield gives him and Ambrose a chance to regroup and refocus, plus it would revive a very popular group that broke up way too soon to begin with.

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  159. Rollins screwing Reigns after he beats Lesnar at WM is the way to go. Reigns gets the rub from beating Lesnar and gets a hot summer program chasing the belt.

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  160. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:18 PM

    Plus, it would explain why Roman never got rid of his Shield gear. WWE can pretend this was the plan all along!

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  161. Why only cash in the night after? Why not Wrestlemania itself since Lesnar would be exhausted after having just wrestled a long match? (Not to mention cashing in at the big event itself would be more historical; it's never been done before and it would be ten years in the making.)

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  162. Here's the seating limits per the defunct Pontiac Silverdome website: http://web.archive.org/web/20040103020037/http://silverdome.com/

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  163. Agree. Vince isn't going to change the direction of his company because "some internet geeks" as he sees it are hijacking RAW. Then a few months down the line if Reigns hasn't improved and the product is tanking he'll put the title on Cena. When asked about iron the future he'll say that it was all Reign's fault and fun milleneals and blah blah blah.

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  164. have Rollins run over him with a forklift at the post WM Raw...cash in MITB...have Reigns dissapear for a month...then repackage as a heel in a dark suit with a Samoan hit team (also wearing suits) comprised of the Usos and Samoa Joe.

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  165. Reigns is not cutting it as champion-
    Rollins needs to take the guy out-

    The tried to kill Roman with a forklift!

    Ole!

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  166. Yes the event coordinator had to fabricate a larger number than WWF's fake number so their number is exaggerated too. I'm sorry but don't buy the WWE spiel on this. If the place held 100,000 Andre and Hulk would have sold that out too. 78,000 is still amazing. Vince just had to be a carny and fake the number higher

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  167. So you're saying the Pontiac Silverdome's own website is lying about its seating limits as well? lol

    ReplyDelete
  168. Here you go:
    https://bostongardenbalcony.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/transcript-of-my-wrestlemania-iii-interview-with-the-observers-dave-meltzer/

    ReplyDelete
  169. Reigns is going to join Diesel, Sheamus, and countless others who have flopped as the "next big guy".

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  170. Am I alone in thinking that a loss to Brock would actually help Reigns at this point?


    Like it might wash some of the "hand-picked by Vince" corporate stink off him and generate some genuine fan support. Then he could be more of an underdog against Brock instead of THE BIG DOG.

    ReplyDelete
  171. You're not only not alone, you're in the majority

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  172. I am pretty sure that Vince is in denial and the negative Internet reaction will only embolden his delusions. I could be wrong but I am fairly certain Reigns not only beats Lesnar (which is bad enough) but will beat Rollins in his cash-in attempt as well. I am sure the sound guys will earn their $$$ pumping in canned cheers to the post-match Network/PPV feed.

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  173. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:37 PM

    Yeah, I think Vince is definitely the fly in the ointment here. After last year, he's bound and determined not to let the "inmates run the asylum" again, even if it means hostile crowds every week.

    ReplyDelete
  174. I think Sheamus could have worked if they had just let him be a badass instead of Smilin' Cena Babyface.


    And maybe done more with his character than "He's Irish" coupled with his Too Many Limes theme song.

    ReplyDelete
  175. I think maybe Scott was thinking of the paid attendance. I don't think Meltzer ever got final numbers, but there was reportedly a massive amount of freebies for WM 8 -- upwards of 15,000 tickets. You can tell they were handing out tickets as the show was starting because there are a lot of empty seats in that opening shot and Gorilla/Bobby remark during Tito's entrance that people must have been confused by the time change and that they were still filling in.

    Still not as much of a disaster as Royal Rumble 1997 though when you look at the gate.

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  176. That's if Brock re-signs, which we don't know. If not, I'm sure Vince will turn to the one sure thing - Cena.

    I think his wet dream is Cena vs. Reigns at Mania 32 with Reigns going over, but if the Reigns experiment fails it'll be bumped up to SummerSlam with Cena going over.

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  177. I've read that before, but I don't know...it's Meltzer...

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  178. Yup. The title will go right back to Cena because it's the company's only sure thing.

    ReplyDelete
  179. Yeah I've gone over these same pics and have come to the conclusion that there either were 90k+ in the Silverdome or that the Pope's number was also worked. There is very little difference in the sizes of the two crowds

    ReplyDelete
  180. Ding ding ding.

    Reigns beats Lesnar. Rollins tries to cash in, Reigns beats Rollins. Cue angry Triple H and Stephanie at the top of the ramp.

    ReplyDelete
  181. Well now they've just switched to announcing the number of people present about 10,000 too high on TV no matter how many people are there.

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  182. When Reigns was cutting promos using cartoon characters ... I just can't get past that. This silent, brooding, tattooed somoan badass, ex-football star, dressed in black S.W.A.T team great suddenly ripping off Daffy Duck or whoever it was ... Just .. Damn ... that really showed this Reigns thing wasn't headed anywhere good.

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  183. And if you get over without persmission, you get woo woo woo you know it off the stage.

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  184. Yeah this show has nothing going for it. They need to WrestleMania 9 the ending and just do the cash-in, title change. Or you know, have Hogan take out Brock after Paul inadvertantly throws salt in his eyes.

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  185. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:51 PM

    How would you even repackage him? Have him rediscover his Samoan roots and painting his face and wearing tribal gear? A new team with a debuting Samoa Joe? Rikishi 2.0?

    ReplyDelete
  186. Another point: If Sting beats Triple H (which is what probably will happen), where does it go from there? There is no stakes, like "Triple H must step down if Sting wins".

    Sting will beat Triple H and we'll still be stuck with the 18 month old The Authority storyline still stinkin' up the joint. Only Reigns will now be in the Austin/Bryan anti-authority role.

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  187. Makin' a Difference Roman Reigns, of course!

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  188. My exact issue last night. "I'm here to take Triple H down, whooooooo!" There's no such stipulation!

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  189. Biff Kensington Has a PosseMarch 24, 2015 at 1:54 PM

    Make him a dark and brooding ass kicker with no friends and lots of enemies. Let him polish his ring work up and learn how to carry a match on his own, then make dat bank.

    ReplyDelete
  190. The Love-Matic Grampa!March 24, 2015 at 1:56 PM

    Vince: Get outta here with that "rasslin'" shit! Clearly, what Roman needs is MOAR DANCING!

    ReplyDelete
  191. Biff Kensington Has a PosseMarch 24, 2015 at 1:56 PM

    Not even Vince is stubborn enough to stick with something that obviously isn't working. If every live crowd starts booing him out of the building, ratings would have to start declining as well. Vince may jack off to Reigns' thighs, but he wont sacrifice his company for the sake of one Samoan.

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  192. Losses done the right way can really help. Look at Austin/Hart - Austin jobbed like a guy in a mullet and satin jacket for the whole feud and came out looking fantastic. Having said that, if they did have Reigns lose (doubtful), then they'd probably follow it up with half assed booking and have him squash all the guys in the IC match the next night and be back to square one.

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  193. Mick Foley inducting Nash into the HOF. Huh?

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  194. Biff Kensington Has a PosseMarch 24, 2015 at 1:58 PM

    Then Vince has a major problem if it's only the 'internet geeks' hijacking Raw, because it's every crowd they visit now. That means the internet geeks are the only dedicated fan base Vince has left.

    ReplyDelete
  195. Foley is now insinuating he was joking:
    https://twitter.com/realmickfoley/status/580433445043728385

    ReplyDelete
  196. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonMarch 24, 2015 at 2:01 PM

    Shouldn't his hair stylist induct him?

    ReplyDelete

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