Skip to main content

The PG Era Rant: 2015 King of the Ring

The PG Era Rant for the 2015 King of the Ring Final Four.

Well, I was supposed to rant on Tuesdays and then Main Event disappeared. But hey, this is a Tuesday show, so let's have some fun together and enjoy the show.


This show is dedicated to the memory of Verne Gagne.

We start with a video about past kings and how winning the King of the Ring title leads to big things for all involved. So which of the four tonight will join them?

Live from the WWE Network.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, JBL, and master of ceremonies Jerry Lawler. Lawler welcomes us and talks about being King of the Ring. But first, highlights of the quarterfinals.

Byron Saxton interviews Sheamus. He says he'll be a 2-time King, but first he has to beat Neville. Yes, Neville defies gravity – but not while he's unconscious. And it doesn't matter who's in the final; Sheamus will become King and make you kiss his arse.

Renee Young, meanwhile, gets Adrian Neville. He reminds us he was a long-reigning NXT Champion, and in just a month, he's in the King of the Ring semis. No one thought he could do this – just as no one thinks he'll win tonight – but he defies gravity and expectations. He's ready to show Sheamus what he can do.

2015 King of the Ring Semifinals: Sheamus v. Adrian Neville. The 1980s Kings are now canon, because Sheamus is trying to join Bret Hart as 2-time King. Sheamus starts with the “lol you're short” hand signal. He shoves Neville in the corner a couple times and talks trash, but Neville forearms and kicks out. Neville handsprings out of the corner, boot is caught, clothesline ducked, but Neville runs into the Irish Curse. Neville shoves Sheamus away as the ref checks on him. Sheamus charges in on kneelifts and delivers a second Irish Curse. Neville tries to fight back from a kneeling position, but Sheamus clubs him down and gets a running knee. Boot choke in the corner follows, and Sheamus goes to a rear bearhug as the crowd chants for Neville. Neville elbows out, then gets the Tito Santana forearms to rattle Sheamus. Sheamus recovers with a knee to the gut, then tosses Neville to try the Ten of Clubs. Neville fights out, so Sheamus throws him into the announce table from the apron. They tease the countout, but Neville's in at 9. Sheamus disgustedly pounds away on Neville before throwing him halfway across the ring. Sheamus with White Noise on Neville... but Dolph Ziggler is here to get his attention. You know, with how Dolph won at Extreme Rules? Sheamus is furious and misses the Brogue Kick from it, and the enzuigiri and Red Arrow ends it at 5:44. Would a clean finish kill them? *3/4

Dolph puts Neville over before addressing Sheamus and saying that, um, there was supposed to be a stipulation for when he won, and it's time to collect. He charges the ring and gets a few shots in, but Sheamus escapes. Sheamus is furious and decides to race back in to continue the fight as ALL the referees come out to do something about it. Sheamus' right eye is busted open from the fight.

I know it wouldn't be very insightful, but I would pay money if the entire Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon podcast was Jericho finding newer ways to call Stephanie a trashbag ho like back in 2000. But that's just me.

Moments ago, for those who don't understand how video on demand works.

Renee Young is with Bad News Barrett. First off, Neville beating Sheamus is one of the biggest upsets in King of the Ring history. Renee said it, not Wade. Barrett wants to know why he should be worried about R-Truth. Once Barrett beats a has-been, he'll take out a never-will-be. When he's done, Neville will be the Man That Everyone Forgot, and they'll only remember Barrett as King.

Byron Saxton is with R-Truth for the rebuttal. Truth's final thoughts: he's still afraid of spiders. But he has a plan: he's not facing his fears. He has something concrete. His plan is become King of the Ring, and when he does, he'll declare that spiders are banned in wrestling. He'll build a castle, make a drawbridge, fill up a moat... wait, are there water spiders? As for Barrett, he's not invited to the castle unless he can kill spiders. He's a goooooooooooooooood R-Truth again.

2015 King of the Ring Semifinals: R-Truth v. Wade Barrett. Truth with a quick rollup for two. The two exchange strikes, with Barrett doing better in it, but Truth stops a whip to dance and get another cradle for two. Barrett boots Truth down for one. Choke on the second rope by Barrett, then some knee strikes and a running boot to send Truth to the outside. On the outside, Barrett sends Truth into the apron and gets two back in. To the chinlock! Barrett misses a blind charge and Truth gets the clotheslines and front suplex for two. Axe Kick misses, but the Lie Detector gets two. A second one gets two. Little Jimmy gets blocked, Bulhammer missed, and the Bossman Slam gets two. Barrett with kicks in the corner, but a blind charge airballs and Little Jimmy gets two, but Barrett gets to the rope. No one bought that as a near fall. Barrett with an eye rake and Bullhammer more or less from nothing to win at 4:38. This never got out of the blocks. ½*

A video tribute to Verne Gagne. It gets a classy ovation. Lawler and JBL share their thoughts.

Renee Young is with Dolph Ziggler. We're reminded of how Ziggler got Sheamus to advance by DQ over Dean Ambrose. But Ziggler eliminated Sheamus this time. Dolph says he's tired of Sheamus being a loud-mouthed bully. He even called Dean Ambrose to apologize, so that story thread is going nowhere. He promises there's more pain to come for Sheamus. This isn't about kissing an arse – it's about kicking one.

This week: Mick Foley! Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon! WrestleMania Rewind – Money/Giant!

Highlights from the Extreme Rules kickoff show, where Neville scored an upset.

Byron Saxton is with Barrett. Saxton says there's some bad news: Neville's already beaten Barrett. Barrett doesn't like fighting twice in one night, but Neville is in trouble because Barrett destroyed R-Truth and has all the momentum. And from here, Barrett will be the King of the Ring.

They really should not have shown the Neville/Barrett highlights. Too many fans know about 50/50 booking nowadays. Of course, those that do also remember Sunday's match...

2015 King of the Ring: Adrian Neville v. Wade Barrett. Winner becomes King of the Ring. With any luck, the loser gets his first name back. Fun little detail: Barrett comes out and points at the throne, clearly shouting “That's mine” as he does. Barrett stalls to start. Lockup leads to a knee from Barrett and works the ribs. Neville with the handspring and head-scissors, then a back heel kick. More kicks, but Barrett pounces on Neville and clotheslines him out of the ring. Barrett with a slam on the outside, then he shoves Neville into the apron. Back in, Barrett gets one. Barrett hangs Neville on the top roe and clubs the back before kicking the ribs for two. Slingshot backbreaker gets two. He stomps on the ribs before going to a half-surfboard with his knee in Neville's ribs. Neville kicks out, staggering Barrett, but Barrett recovers. Neville flips out of another slingshot and kicks away, this time ducking Barrett's rush and sending him out. Neville follows with a springboard quebrada. Back in, Neville with a springboard dropkick. He strikes Barrett with every limb he's got, getting a sliding dropkick and German suplex for two. Neville runs into the Bossman Slam for two. Wasteland try, but Neville escapes and gets a kick before... running back into Wasteland for two. Barrett's running out of ideas, with nothing but the Bullhammer left, and he's ready to deliver it. It misses, and Neville with a cradle and bridge for two. Enzuigiri by Neville and he goes up, but the Shooting Star Press misses. Neville rolls through and charges... right into a Bullhammer for the crown at 7:06. A neat little story they told there, with Neville showing fighting spirit and Barrett unloading the hard shots and winning with experience. **1/4

Barrett puts on the robe and takes the throne. Lawler makes it official. Barrett says he's got the class and elegance to call himself King. He will rule with an iron fist and a Bullhammer. Boom.

And with that, I throw it back to Tommy Hall to take you through the rest of the week. If you want me to do a Network recap, let me know. See you later!


Comments

  1. kbwrestlingreviewsApril 28, 2015 at 7:10 PM

    Well that happened. Seven matches in two days and they didn't even break an hour combined. This felt like they wanted a new plot device so they brought this out of mothballs and threw it together. I like the idea of giving the Network an actual exclusive that people might want to see, but the slightest bit of effort would have been ice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Blasé affair. Arbitrary to boot. I suspected they'd fork this over to Barrett. God knows why. KOTR seems benign enough to award Neville with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can only imagine the comments this will get.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wish they would have extended this thing over a 2 or 3 week span (apparently that was the original plan). Hell, they could have made it a 16 man tournament so that the winner has to win 4 times.

    Since they did it this way, they should have made it a one night tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  5. *looks around nervously*

    ReplyDelete
  6. Plus a 16 man tournament would have added more star power.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stranger in the AlpsApril 28, 2015 at 7:33 PM

    I don't understand why everyone is nervously checking out the comments section of each reviewer.


    Hell, they all do a fine, upstanding, jam up job.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was much higher on the main event. Really got a lot in despite being a sub-ten minute match.

    ReplyDelete
  9. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighApril 28, 2015 at 7:37 PM

    Excited for Wade

    ReplyDelete
  10. I know. He didn't give a higher rating to that epic ***** Truth/Barrett match or the sublime Sheamus retread, er, classic.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Barrett's still going nowhere.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Andy hates everything!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fresh off losing every match for 2 months leading into Wrestlemania season, I'm sure excited for Wade Barrett.

    I'm sure this means big big things for him!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Stupid show was spoiled for West coasters by the front page on the wwe app. Wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  15. FLAME HIM!!! HE SHOULD QUIT!!! TERRIBLE WRITER!!!

    What? I'm not being mean. That's "constructive criticism".

    ReplyDelete
  16. KOTR comes back in the most irrelevant way. Is it any wonder they shed two million people from their post Mania RAW in just two weeks?

    ReplyDelete
  17. No, because that's always going to happen. Didn't they regain ratings a week after the England RAW?

    ReplyDelete
  18. It was a surreal moment for us. There was nothing but joy at Levi's when Rollins won. The entire stadium was going nuts for Rollins. They even cheered him in San Jose...until they were reminded that he was a heel (and a chicken-shit heel, per the booking) and the Authority was still in control. When Brock came out to play, I don't think I've heard SAP Center so loud in my life -- even during San Jose Sharks games. People turned on Rollins real quick. Brock went into Wookie Rage and was "suspended"...and the entire show just came apart after that. I think that it was at that moment where the "honeymoon phase" came to an end and the regular bullshit was back.

    ReplyDelete
  19. So is Sheamus getting the job treatment for putting Bryan out of action?

    Also, I can't understand why people who clamored for more wrestling on the Network are now complaining about the KOTR special. Seems like four decent matches, which is more than what we get out of RAW these days.

    ReplyDelete
  20. You really can't take criticism

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yea, that makes sense. That's Rollins' character. The way he cashed in MITB makes him a chickenshit.

    ReplyDelete
  22. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8f/43/4d/8f434d9fef6da2f03938ef104501f5df.jpg

    And you can't take a joke.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What stage are we at in the phases of deflection?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Just stop. Seriously. Stop and walk away. That's all you have to do.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yes. Exactly. I wasn't criticizing the booking. The fans weren't happy -- but, whatever. We'll be here all night arguing semantics because you wanna fight.

    ReplyDelete
  26. They shouldn't be happy. Rollins is the heel.

    ReplyDelete
  27. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©April 28, 2015 at 8:42 PM

    WWE: the East Coast time zone is the only time zone we care about.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Is now when I find a gif of someone saying no?

    ReplyDelete
  29. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©April 28, 2015 at 8:42 PM

    I'm afraid I've got some bad news.....

    ReplyDelete
  30. You figured that out just now? Damn.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Is this when I make a mayo joke? Or do I go with lol?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Just get a room and fuck already.

    ReplyDelete
  33. The heels interfered in a match designed to keep heels out? WTF?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Is this where you make 100 fake accounts? Cuz I don't think you'll top Matthew Perry from Friends. That was funnier than anything you'd come up with.

    ReplyDelete
  35. The one semi-heel guy interfered for reasons even Scott Keith couldn't explain?! WHOA! We're reaching common ground!

    ReplyDelete
  36. People who are negative tend to be more forceful than people who are positive. But thanks for the indirect compliment.

    ReplyDelete
  37. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighApril 28, 2015 at 8:51 PM

    Sheamus just a mid card heel at this point. Which means win some and lose some. Like all of the mid card

    ReplyDelete
  38. The fact that he feels like he should win even though he's at the same (kayfabe) level as Dolph Ziggler says something about his presence.

    ReplyDelete
  39. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighApril 28, 2015 at 9:06 PM

    Good point. I'm thinking the endgame is Sheamus the bully being confronted by anti-bullying John Cena. Because John Cena doesn't back down and doesn't give up..... Maybe a feud culminating at summerslam. I'm digging Sheamus and his new character work and always liked him in the ring.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Ziggler/Sheamus encapsulates everything that is wrong this company. There is no need for the nonsense with these two, their styles are made for each other. Just send them out there and give them 20 minutes. It's not that hard!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Y'know, I don't remember the Sheamus/Cena matches even being bad, but if that's the endgame...Jesus Christ.


    There's always a couple good heels in WWE (and Sheamus is currently in that category) but I really think I measure my enjoyment of the product by the amount of actual good babyfaces there are in it.


    NXT has Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Hideo Itami on the men's side, and Charlotte and Bayley on the woman's side. Not to mention a smattering of tolerable faces here and there.


    LU has Johnny Mundo, Fenix, Alberto, Drago...those are just the guys off the top of my head. Prince Puma and Sex Star aren't bad as the generic heroes, not my favorite but not bad enough to deter me from their stories.


    WWE has...nobody. If you don't like Cena and don't buy Orton as a face, there's nobody to get behind. Ambrose used to be the Joker, now he's just a joke. Roman Daniel Bryan is probably done. Ziggler and Sandow are both assholes and midcard 4 life. There are a couple guys that have some potential (Catsaro might be good, Neville is an above average to excellent wrestler in every category) but the only vaguely serious candidate for likable main-event babyface is Roman Fucking Reigns, and that tells you all you need to know


    I stopped watching TNA after they turned a guy heel one too many times. If there's nobody to get attached to, nobody that you want to see win you can't get into it. Wrestling is posited around the principle that you want some people to win, and some people to lose. Without that it's...nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Wrestling is a small niche, not nearly big enough to support a huge corporation like WWE.


    They NEED sports entertainment. They NEED this nonsense.

    ReplyDelete
  43. At least the presentation tonight felt fresh. Barrett and Neville were both good choices and they ultimately went the safe/familiar route with Barrett, which is just fine.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Question, where would you put Brock Lesnar?

    ReplyDelete
  45. I also want to add that I thought the commentary was a lot better than usual tonight. Maybe Vince wasn't in their ears as much since this was a Network exclusive show?

    ReplyDelete
  46. A face king doesn't make much sense. How long has it been since we had one?

    ReplyDelete
  47. I thought it was Barrett that injured Bryan?

    ReplyDelete
  48. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighApril 28, 2015 at 10:01 PM

    Great post and all valid points.... I am only guessing Cena is the endgame for Sheamus in this particular run. But you are right. Faces have been booked horribly for a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  49. They weren't cheering for Rollins. They were cheering the fact that anybody but Reigns won.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Having attended live, I can say they were cheering for Rollins. Our entire section was at least. I can't vouch for the rest of the place.

    ReplyDelete
  51. You're probably right.


    ...sigh...

    ReplyDelete
  52. I find it weird to call Brock a face, but he is.


    He's important, and while I'm not the biggest Bork Laser fan in the world, being important is something not a whole lot of wrestlers are.


    Even still, he's a freak show, he's Sting, he's Rock, he's WrestleMania. He's a guy that shows up and does something cool, but you can't get attached to him or his 'journey'. He's not going to make Raw better because he's not on Raw every week. I became a CM Punk fan because every show he was there doing shit, and yeah, if CM Punk came back I'd cheer him because the connection is there, but unless he'd make regular appearances I wouldn't like the show more, y'know?


    Let's say that WWE is a TV-Show, the protagonists are either awful and annoying/completely unbelievable or they're brand new and get minimal screen time so who can really care about them, the villains are all pretty enjoyable but watching for them and them alone is a cynical, dehumanizing process and so you're left with the fact that the only likable, important character that you can root for shows up twice a season. I don't watch enough bad tv to really find a suitable analogy, but I'm sure you can recognize something that fits that.


    Somebody a while back posted an article talking about the pointlessness of watching between Raw After Wrestlemania and SummerSlam, and I mentioned how you do it to build that connection to the everyday characters. Seeing stupid backstage vignettes with Cesaro and Kidd talking about what they had for lunch or Seth Rollins laughing after hitting a move. It's the little things that get you attached to these characters. But if they're unwilling to let me get attached to them, what's the point? I have to feel like my attachment isn't just some Mobius strip, I keep going in circles and spinning around but there isn't a fucking journey, it's just people spinning endlessly. It's why I stopped caring about Dolph Ziggler, cause I know he'll never change or evolve or grow, his biggest development in the past year was "replace pre-cut t-shirt with denim vest". If they don't care and he doesn't care, why should I care?


    Honestly, I've kinda lost all hope with the current generation, I'm really just waiting for Finn Balor and Charlotte to be called up because I know Triple H loves them and Vince will love them (a ripped Irishman and the ripped blonde daughter of one of his favorite wrestlers? Cha-fucking-ching) so I can reasonably expect them to get decent treatment.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Considering that it was booked on a napkin on Sunday afternoon, I think it went just fine.


    "Like, are you being sarcastic?"
    "I don't even know anymore."

    ReplyDelete
  54. It really hurts the program I think because the main two categories of WWE characters are "jock face" and "chickenshit heel". And the higher you get on the card, the more likely you will be pushed in one of these directions. If you think about all the characters who have gotten fairly over with the crowd recently, they didn't fall into these buckets. Even though he's kind of stalled out right now, Rusev had been booked very well. Orton gets bigger than you would think pops because he's a face that WON'T just laugh off a loss, he'll go crazy trying to get revenge and who doesn't want to see a jerkface heel get his just desserts. It just seems like the higher you go on the card, the more they want to move you into these two categories, and it makes it really boring.

    ReplyDelete
  55. How many KOTR winners have been faces?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Kayfabe.


    I think Bryan got busted open on a table or something. Barrett immediately went for a Bullhammer right after, but Sheamus was the one who initiated the spot.

    ReplyDelete
  57. About a half dozen, if that. Doesn't mean you can't have a face win again. Even still, I'm ok with Barrett winning the thing. WWE just needs a breath of fresh air.

    ReplyDelete
  58. As long as they mix some good wrestling in with the other stuff, I'll be happy. If they actually tell some entertaining stories at the same time, I'll be ecstatic.

    ReplyDelete
  59. (Barrett
    puts on the robe and takes the throne. Lawler makes it official.
    Barrett says he's got the class and elegance to call himself King.
    He will rule with an iron fist and a Bullhammer. Boom.)

    King Barrett... awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Rollins never stopped being a heel. People didn't turn on Rollins, they bought into BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROCK. And an awesome Summerslam match was born.

    ReplyDelete
  61. You could get technical and say he was still technically a heel at the time he won it. I seem to recall the final four of that tournament being an all-heel showcase with E&C, Rhyno, and Angle.

    ReplyDelete
  62. I think Edge pretty much turned midway through the tourney, yes? I know he was heel when he faced Saturn in the first round, but he was the face against both Rhyno and Angle.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Wade, that's your win quota for the year all used up. Back to clean jobbing now, you schmuck.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Totally. They're really trying to turn their product into something as risk free as possible, running the same angles between the same characters culminating in the same matches.


    Like...I get that wrestling has a circular nature to it, and there's some comfort food qualities to wrestling, but you have to let the individual personality shine through. Seth Rollins is doing a masterful job of adding a smug, teacher's pet quality to his chickenshit heel work that's some of the best I've seen (though he still shouldn't be cutting 20 minute promos).


    I was watching some old SHIELD segments and one thing that gets forgotten is how natural their chemistry was. The only guy to approach the level of completeness as a performer is Seth (who was the least personable member of the group so it figures), Roman feels disconnected without other people to draw out his natural charisma or set up his cool spots, and Dean wasn't a cartoonish CRAZY MAN, he was an ex-homeless weirdo crackbaby that was a little bit unhinged (and that less made it seem so much more). As you said, they broke up and got cast into the roles (and Roman is actually pretty natural as the jock, but more of your cool best friend that happens to play football, but also spends his weekends marathoning Super Smash Bros with you) that really don't suit them. Roman was actually really natural in promos.


    It's crazy, because I have distinct memories of the Blog's discussion of them when they first showed up and it basically went like "We know Roman is Vince's baby, so he'll be the huge star", while everybody thought Ambrose would break out as the big heel and Seth would be fired/wrestling Dolph Ziggler for the US title.


    I think the SHIELD situation was especially bad because they split up right when Bryan got injured and when CM Punk's departure started getting noticed after the frenzy of Mania ended. They were three super hot faces that probably could've feuded with the Wyatt's and various permutations of the Authority until Bryan recovered or they had a firm plan for what to do for a next babyface (like, the SHIELD are the better team, but throw them in a series of singles matches, which they aren't ready for), as we've seen, the three are capable single's wrestlers, so you can get them over as such, WITHOUT destroying the overness they had an unit.


    I don't like getting too CM Punk conspiratorial (though a lot of his theories make a good deal of sense), but it seems that WWE is deathly afraid of a person getting over as a babyface that isn't John Cena. Even Bryan, who they managed into a SUPER HOT Mania run, was going to feud with Kane...and then would've been destroyed by Lesnar at Summerslam. I feel like they were afraid of three rookies having an over gimmick that's completely independent of WWE and giving them the keys to the castle basically.

    ReplyDelete
  65. I've been catching up to LuchaUnderground right now and it's a crazy good blend of what wrestling could be.


    Good matches that aren't "too foreign" for American audiences. A different method for doing backstage shenanigans. Great gimmicks (CERO MIEDO!). Good actual characters (Sexy Star isn't a spectacular talent, but her story would be great to drag wrestling out the 60s). And pretty damn good booking.


    Like, I really think people could get into a Reincarnated Dragon fighting the silent barrio-born scion of the most ferocious Aztec tribe, all while the machinations of an evil businessman with a violence-fetish and an evil monster in a cage utilizes a calculating Big Game (Man)Hunter and a FEARLESS (possibly) Satanist Ninja (Pentagon Jr. is the coolest wrestler ever) to destroy his opposition.


    Like, it's good wrestling meet Power Rangers meets a telenovella.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I can't think of the last MiTB cash-in that was booed.


    ADR's? And that was against a white-hot Punk.

    ReplyDelete
  67. MLK disagrees with you.

    ReplyDelete
  68. I would pay big money for Cesaro to change his gimmick to catsaro

    ReplyDelete
  69. "Roman is actually pretty natural as the jock, but more of your cool best
    friend that happens to play football, but also spends his weekends
    marathoning Super Smash Bros with you"

    kudos. because to me is spot-on.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Aside from the finish, I thought Neville/Sheamus was great stuff. Sheamus was proper laying into him and Neville is just awesome as always. The final was also solid too and the commentary was (mostly) on point all night (erm, the whole hour). Good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  71. I couldn't believe it when Cole actually explained how Sheamus was taking away Neville's aerial offence. Adds so much to the experience when the announcers give a damn

    ReplyDelete
  72. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©April 29, 2015 at 5:36 AM

    Not being on a 3 hour show can do that to you.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Thirteen of the nineteen winners have been heel.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Is Catsaro Bob Cat?

    ReplyDelete
  75. All 8 guys in the tournament have wrestled each other about 9,000 times this year. Anyone brave enough to get a correct count. Just tv matches only

    ReplyDelete
  76. I don't know, I was distracted by JBL screaming "Bullhammer" about 700 times.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Catsaro is Kidd/Cesaro. They're also the Uppercats, K-Swiss, the Masters of the WWE Universe, the Brass Ring Club...

    ReplyDelete
  78. Dont forget Orton. Actually I only saw It once and I dont really remember. But I cant imagine they were cheering.

    ReplyDelete
  79. It was the intended direction, but I felt that E&C were the default faces against more disliked opponents, and then they just started working face style the night of the PPV, and cemented the turn the night after.

    ReplyDelete
  80. I was there in the crowd that night, and it was more of a roar than a cheer, but people were amped up for it because y'know...something BIG happened.


    My memories (beyond the show being awesome) are pretty foggy. I actually watched the show afterwards just to see what I missed (my seats super sucked). I remember AJ getting a good reaction, Cena being booed, Punk being cheered. Y'know, 2013 was a pretty good year, all things considered.

    ReplyDelete
  81. I stand corrected then. Maybe im just remembering the outrage on the BOD when it happened. I dont recall anyone roaring when ADR cashing in. Just groaning.

    ReplyDelete
  82. I honestly think that retroactively WWE was completely justified in every step of that story. The blog honestly bitches about everything, and while sometimes they're justified, sometimes they're just Dumb Bastards (tm Randy Orton).


    And honestly the ADR thing ended up working out (it'd be a lot better if they cut out the "John Cena gets than loses the title to ADR" bit, but ah well) because you needed to transition Punk from a Babyface Fighting Babyfaces to a Babyface Fighting Heels.


    Sometimes I feel that the people here justify their disappointment as fans of the product by couching it in terms of this purer/higher criticism of the product on a meta-level. People can't say "Oh, I'm mad that Daniel Bryan didn't win" but they will say "Having Daniel Bryan was horrible booking", I don't like throwing mark around because it has a pejorative connotation to it, but goddamn, we're fucking marks. Let yourself be played.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment