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Does Ambrose need to win to win back the fans?



Dear Scott,

Just wanted to ask an excruciatingly long, painful and pedantic question with ten parts to it followed with a juggling demonstration on your head (ha!):

Does the WWE need to put the title on Ambrose to get the fan bases's trust back?

Nico

P.S. I am surprised no one has done that joke yet actually, or maybe they did and I missed it? 

I think you're the first.

Anyway, as Dean, I think he'll be fine if he loses.  He can always do something wacky on Monday and get his heat back, given that no one is really expecting him to walk out as the champion anyway.  


Comments

  1. Eh, it feels like half their storylines are too "inside" for the casual fan to really get. Why stop now?

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  2. Ambrose is in Jericho territory where he'll never dip below a certain level in the fans eyes no matter how much he jobs.

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  3. Agreed. The moment they put him in a main event storyline his face heat went immediately back to borderline nuclear. And it hadn't really fallen off that much even when he was having a garbage brawl with Luke Harper in which the match drove away from the building for an hour.

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  4. Also, I feel like there shouldn't be a Cena open challenge on Monday, because as much as I like Cena I'd prefer to see him take a little time off to recover from being maimed by KO tomorrow night.

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  5. How about a Dusty that gives Cody the win?

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  6. Maybe in 15 years he can get bad tattoos and host a boring podcast too

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  7. Keep the title on Rollins. Period.

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  8. Is he still jobbing in wacky ways?

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  9. Does a Dusty Finish count?

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  10. A Dusty finish would be too inside? This is the same company that pulls ribs on their employees ON AIR that nobody gets unless they hear about it online. A Dusty finish would be tame my friend.

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  11. Ambrose winning then Reigns cashing in on him is the best possible result for Sunday.

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  12. Time to kill the Stardust character. Maybe Cody could use "Stardust" as a nickname like Dusty did at some points in his career.

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  13. Meh. Football stadiums, the Spring Break Nitro venue, all the Shotgun Saturday Night venues...

    They were all designed with a specific purpose that wasn't wrestling, too.

    Sometimes you need to do something outside the box. If you never change up your presentation, you end up with a giant LED stage that never changes except for color.

    Difference of opinion, I guess. I just think that seeing as wrestling only needs a ring, a crowd and a stage/entranceway to have a show, there aren't too many places you CAN'T have a wrestling show. It's all in how you execute it.

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  14. What about just the ten bell salute? Tasteful, classy, classic, perfect. No need to overthink it.

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  15. 1) Big E did the five count gimmick in NXT. He should have brought it back at some point in the main roster.

    2) Would be perfect for Harper and Rowan.

    3) Maybe Russev could use that when he comes back from his injury.

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  16. A better tribute is Cody dropping an elbow and winning the belt.

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  17. Kevin Owens can take credit for Cena losing.

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  18. Didn't realise Goldust was injured. I'd have preferred a good 15 minute wrestling match between the two brothers. No bells or whistles, just a nice tribute.

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  19. They really shouldn't test the waters as to how many times Ambrose can "Jericho" himself back to popularity. Eventually people just stop caring and your jobbing to Fandango.

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  20. Unless Cody wins, its a bad idea.

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  21. Not only does Ambrose need to win but they need to have Brock Lesner come back full time and basically, as his first major action, massacre the Authority (Steph included) to kill off that storyline once and for all.

    Brock comes back, goes on a full-tilt rampage with Steph, HHH, Kane, the jobber guys, etc all brutally beaten by Brock and us getting about 10-20 minutes of the entire flock of assholes being loaded off into stretchers not to be seen on TV for another two-three years. Or in the case of Kane, gets his voicebox and face damaged by Brock, to justify resetting him back to the mute/disfigured version of Kane if we are going to be stuck with him.

    Brock ends the Authority once and for all, Ambrose is our new edgelord champion, and stick Bryan in as the new token figurehead running things and feed Rollins to Ambrose as his first challenge to beat. Full tilt clean slate reset, which the company desperately needs

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  22. I just thought of another one! Babyfaces jumping over the top rope after a hot tag because they're a house of fire.

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  23. Needs more rape. Has the appropriate amount of refusal to spell Lesnar's name correctly.

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  24. If that's his fate, he'll have done pretty fucking well. Because that was 14 years and about nine world titles after Jericho's debut.

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  25. Eh. I liked the end of that match. It worked for me.

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  26. They should give the title to Ambrose and let Rollins win his rematch at the next ppv. Then they can make a no 1 contender match between Lesnar and Reigns and then Lesnar vs Rollins at Summer Slam. So they can test for some weeks if Ambrose as champion can work and we would get some variety.

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  27. Didn't they do the dusty finish tribute at elimination chamber??

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  28. Fine, I'll be a fantasy-booking dipshit, too.


    Brock shows up on Sunday and somehow gets possession of the briefcase. Rollins retains, the chase is on. Shield reforms at Summerslam to fuck Brock over and keep it on Rollins.

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  29. Rick Rubin was the big music producer who was helping fun Smokey Mountain.

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  30. Don't forget being a wannabe rock star!

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  31. Ten bell salute, show clips, maybe get some of the NXT guys up to do a showcase match in his honour?


    *If* Cody is around, he should be dropping the Stardust character (but retaining Stardust as a nickname) and given the push he's actually been deserving of for years.

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  32. I gave up on Jericho after he won the belt clean fom hhh and then gave it up ten minutes later for the sake of Earl Hebner. That was not the same man I fell in love with.

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  33. That's how a heel should play to snark fans. Just add them to the overall heel routine.

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  34. not enough kidnapping.

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  35. You know that was a work of fiction, right?

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  36. More outdated old-school thinking. There was no way that a regional promotion was going to survive in the 90's outside of very precise circumstances (ECW held for a bit, but closed shop eventually). I figure you can say that sort of lack of ambition was a deathblow from the beginning.

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  37. I caught that. Jericho is an all time top ten guy for me. That was the point I stopped caring about him though.

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  38. that or Hollywood Hogan with his weight belt, I guess

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  39. Welp, he had years of really awesome stuff after that, so your loss, I guess.

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  40. Do you mean you consider him an all-time top ten guy solely based on his contributions before April 2000?

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  41. ARE YOU BLIND?!?!

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  42. Wasn't Buff around at this time? I know he's horrendous, especially in retrospect, but he was legit over around that time and at least had some charisma. I was always surprised they never pulled the trigger with really giving him a serious push, because it always seemed like they were poised to and then backed off. And Page was definitely still a legitimate champion, at least more so than fucking Sid. And, of course, there's Shane Doug---ha, sorry, no, I couldn't get through that one with a straight face.

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  43. When I was a kid, if a heel tore up my sign, I would've loved being "part of the show." The easy fix to that is to have Del Rio rip up the sign on his way down to the ring, but then have the face come down and specifically seek out that fan for an immediately apology and high-five, and then go into the ring to kick ADR's ass.

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  44. I do like how he feels the need to specifically mention that Steph is definitely including in the brutal beating, though. Points for that.

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  45. Yep, if there was ever a time for Cody to revert back to his real name/persona, it's now.

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  46. But Jesse, none of this explains why/how Brock Lesnar (Lesnar, not Lesner) is a lazy fuck.


    So, why is Brock Lesnar a lazy fuck?

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  47. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 13, 2015 at 2:05 PM

    Normally I'd agree, but I think Dusty meant too much to the company (and wrestling in general) to leave it at that. If nothing else, a lengthy video package on his career is a must, so to educate the youngsters on just who the Dream was and why he's so important. And Cody has to wrestle as himself, if only for a night.

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  48. Gotta have a bell to signify the beginning and end of the match, dude!


    ;)

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  49. I loved his Wcw heel run.

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  50. Jericho giving the belt back was fine, but him jobbing to HHH at the end of the night was ridiculous.

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  51. You know what, fuck it, let Cody win.


    Have him come out, as Cody Rhodes, and cut an emotional promo about how the passing of his father made him wake up to the fact that Stardust was a mistake that took over his life, and that it was time to get back to what his father made him love - wrestling.


    Have him go over. Have him keep the fucking belt and dedicate the win to his dad and cut a promo saying that he's going to keep the US Title open challenge going, in the spirit of the true American Dream.


    Then let him defend it against all comers for a couple of months before it's eventually passed on, at which point you could move him up to the IC belt again.


    Played right, this could actually give Cody the push he's long deserved, and get him over huge with the fans.

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  52. I also miss, err, let's call 'em moron wrestlers. Think George the Animal, the Missing Link, even Eugene in his own way.
    It's a real throwback, but all the guys these days are so cookie-cutter similar that any sort of weird character stands out. Most guys don't get interview time anyway.

    And someone - Sandow would be perfect - should play a total '80s era wrestler. Give them the sequined bathrobe, an offense filled with arm-drags, abdominal stretches and airplane spins; and have him WEAR a title belt as a belt, not over the shoulder. Trick would be to play it relatively straight (as if Vince could ) and show that it's more tribute than joke.
    I doubt it'd be money, and I'm not saying it'd make a star of anyone - but by god it'd be more entertaining than most of what gets to air.

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  53. I know that he's not a Benoit/Eddie in the sense of being an active employee, but he's a legend the caliber of Warrior/Savage and he was currently working with a lot of the company.


    I'd at least have all the people that he helped/mentored/taught do short confessional speeches about what Dusty meant to them (or at least NXT should do that).

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  54. I do appreciate NAACP bureaucrat Rachel Dolezal trying to bring back Akeem the African Dream as a thing, however.
    *boom-tish*

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  55. Yeah, but no one even remembers that (Jericho was my favorite wrestler ever before Punk came along and I sure as fuck have no recollection of them having a second match that night), nor did it hurt him.

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  56. No, you do not consider him a top-10 all-time guy ever just for his work up to April 2000. Stop being silly.

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  57. I'm all for a Dusty finish. No to Dust brothers winning the tag belts. New Day is hot and the Dust brothers have zero heat.

    If they really wanted to honor Dusty then someone would get a body part broken. I think he leads the league in kayfabe injuries.

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  58. No one knew that Virgil was a rib on Dusty until about 10 years after the fact. That's how they've always rolled so why make an exception now?

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  59. IIRC there were also issues that there were complaints that the Berlin character was too nazi/white nationalist-like in terms of tone and look, from Turner suits already pissed off at WCW for the Lodi/Lenny debacle.

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  60. Also, I think the review is missing a segment: IIRC they open the show with Arn Anderson coming out and basically evoking the "leg on the rope" out they set up, to strip Benoit of the belt.

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  61. The gold he acquired later on helps his case. He's a Scott Steiner type for me though where his best time as a character didn't coincide with his best period as a wrestler.

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  62. I do agree they need to find a way to wrap up The Authority storyline. It has basically been going on since Money in the Bank 2011.

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  63. That would set up a great program, but it won't happen, unfortunately.

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  64. This idea gets dumber and dumber the more I think about it.


    "I challenge you for the US title because my dad, whom I wanted nothing to do with last week, is dead!"


    At least CM Punk smearing Paul Bearer's ashes on himself got some "proper" heat.

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  65. The best way to do Brock full-time would be to at least have him wrestle all 12 pay-per-views. He doesn't have to show up or wrestle every RAW, but they should have him on the Network shows.

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  66. Or authority angles in general. We've had those since late 1997.

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  67. "My dad's passing made me realise what an idiotic arsehole I was, so I'm challenging you and dedicating the match to him and I hope to win so that I can make him proud."

    Much less dumb when you put it like that.

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  68. Zero heat? You know how over they'd be if they came out after a Dusty tribute video, right?

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  69. Because challenging for the US title is the most important thing on his mind less than a week after his father's death?


    At least Bret Hart waited a couple months to carry on.

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  70. "My father lived the American Dream. Now? I'm going to show these people a Nightmare."

    "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes, super-serious, kind of halfway between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose. That's my take on replacing Stardust.

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  71. kbwrestlingreviewsJune 13, 2015 at 2:46 PM

    That could work.


    Instead, five days later, here's Sid vs. Nash.

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  72. I miss the days when a wrestler would be distracted by someone's theme music and/or someone running down to ringside only to be scooped up and pinned by his opponent.

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  73. Early 80s Ken Patera would wear his jumpsuit in the ring. His manager, the Grand Wizard, would get down on a knee and pull Patera's pants off one leg at a time. The crowd would whistle and go nuts and the Wizard would stop while Patera would bad mouth the arena.


    Such a silly, simple thing but it brought a huge reaction before the match even started.

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  74. That's...really stretching it.

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  75. I wouldn't agree with that. His best run of matches were in 2000-2001 and again as super serious Jericho in 2008-2010. You can argue that conspiracy theorist Jericho from '98 was his best character, but it's not like Steiner where Big Poppa Pump was far and away better than anything he did character-wise at any other point of his career.

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  76. I mean, any prediction of a program-to-be is likely to not happen. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if they did something like this.

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  77. Bah. All Ambrose really needs to do is find his own voice and take on the character and connect with the fans. We've seen glimpses of it, and I can't help but think that the writing team is actually fucking up that persona more than they're helping it.


    But, in case they're stuck for an ending to tomorrow's match, I have a suggestion.


    Rollins distracts him with a sparkler, and Bray Wyatt hits him with Sister Abigail while the ref's back is turned. Seth pins him.


    Seems as legit as anything they've done so far.

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  78. When Eddy died in almost positive that Rey dedicated his career to him before resolving their differences on screen. This is wrestling, I'd allow it.

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  79. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANJune 13, 2015 at 3:10 PM

    More than half the crowd was chanting for him.

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  80. Who wins?

    Or do you do a Dusty Finish?

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  81. I would've put the title on Dean last week. He has no shot of winning on Sunday.

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  82. I especially like Seth pinning him to cap it off, with it being a ladder match.

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  83. "arsehole?" He's he American Dream's son, not William Regal's.

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  84. Jeff Hardy did with his hanky after he turned heel. It was great.

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  85. I don't agree with that. I don't see him winning, either, but I definitely think there's a chance of him winning, Reigns winning the briefcase and turning heel on Ambrose. I'm getting a very similar vibe from Reigns right now as I did from Rock leading up to SurSer '98.

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  86. It's wrestling. These guys all live(d) for the business, to a ridiculous degree.


    I remember Lawler's mother's death being used in a heel promo from Cole about three days after it happened.

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  87. They popped the exception Cherry when Orton was doing gay promos about laying in men. Turned out it was punishment for ruining a hotel room on a overseas tour - how were the Little Jimmies in the audience (or their parents) supposed to know that? Again, a Dusty finish is tame by comparison. Hell, Rollins entire reign has been a Dusty finish.

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  88. For how long? Until the bell rings? Isn't this the same stuff they did with Rey and Eddy that everyone is so upset about?

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  89. I'm reminded of that Simpsons where Marge gives Lisa an "A+" made out of paper, and Lisa just sighs with gratitude.

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  90. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 13, 2015 at 3:23 PM

    If they have no concrete plans beyond "Cena wins US title, ????, PROFIT", then I'm not necessarily opposed to this idea.

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  91. What? When was this? I'm with you though, they've been running inside gags since Vince Jr. took over no reason why this would be any different.

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  92. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 13, 2015 at 3:26 PM

    Sometimes people are estranged from their family members only to be filled with regrets when said family member dies. It happens.

    Cody challenging in memory of his father would be the most realistic emotional story that WWE has done in years. People will absolutely relate to that.

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  93. So....now that everyone knows wrestling is fake the heels are no longer allowed to play along and be heels to the crowd. Weird.

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  94. The kid probably just wanted a charismatic, entertaining wrestler to tear up his sign instead.

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  95. What an act of cowardice!

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  96. If they had just stuck with Rey doing things in memory of Eddy they would have been fine. It's when they did things like have Orton say that "Eddy is in hell" that they got into trouble.

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  97. Austin's the guy who turned every match into a 10,000 punch to the face contest as they travel around the arena. What does HE have to complain about there??

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  98. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 13, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    He's a wrestler. That's what he does.

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  99. Someone like Alberto El Patron.

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  100. To me the worst part of ROH was their never-ending barrage of huge, high-impact moves and stiff shots- I think that's the reason Punk flamed out early, it helped wipe out McGuinness for good, and it's probably the reason why Daniel Bryan went from the "Can't Miss Austin of His Generation" to "easily-injured guy who'll never be trusted again". Several years of that shit has basically robbed these guys of great careers, and robbed the fans of the "next generation" of top guys.

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  101. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 13, 2015 at 3:33 PM

    Cody being driven crazy by grief and going evil? Why not?

    And I suspect Dusty would approve.

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  102. Could easily have Cody cut a heartfelt promo and reconcile with Dustin. If anyone can just be himself after that it's Cody.

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  103. It absolutely hurt him. Reminded people that he was a midcarder and made the HHH win seem like a fluke.


    I remember the match clearly. It was incredibly deflating

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  104. Joey Jo-Jo Junior ShabbadooJune 13, 2015 at 3:38 PM

    The morning my grandmother died, I went to work. Why? Because there was literally nothing I could do but sit around being consumed by grief and anger, and being at work was a welcome distraction for a few hours. It helped that at the time I had a low-stress, low-traffic job. Plus, I strongly suspect that it's what she would have told me to do, anyhow.

    Everyone deals with loss differently.

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  105. That would be a terrible idea. It's not time for The Shield to reunite, especially with the fact that Ambrose and Rollins hate each other.

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  106. That would start to kill Brock's aura and I think he only has so many matches per year.

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  107. I'm all in favor of Ambrose winning before Reigns cashes on him and goes heel. The problem there is it'd have to happen after or during a Lesnar title match with Rollins. I think that's too hot an angle to not follow up.

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  108. Why does everybody think the money is in Roman turning on Ambrose?


    Dean is a great heel, why shouldn't they turn him instead? Is Roman suddenly becoming a chickenshit traitor the best use of the guy?


    Honestly, I think the money is in Seth turning face or all three of them turning to keep the belt on Seth against Lesnar.

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  109. Not really, no.

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  110. Choking out your opponent with your wrist tape.

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  111. Yeah, his career was basically over after that.

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  112. Not what I'm remotely implying but it definitely hurt him

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  113. The whole angle on Monday with J & J Security leaving Seth is making it seem like Rollins will lose on Sunday only for Roman to cash in. Although the house show main events for this summer are supposed to be Cena/Owens and Rollins/Reigns, so...

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  114. Because it reminded people he was a midcarder? That's what he fucking was at the time. That was the truth. In April 2000, Chris Jericho was firmly a midcarder going into that show and the only thing that changed was that the seeds had been planted for him to be more than that.

    And in April 2000, on that loaded roster, it was a really good place to be. He was keeping company with some all-time greats in the 2000 midcard.

    Like I said, I was as big of a Y2J mark as anyone at the time but Dusty finish was easy to see coming as soon as the fast pin was counted. It was a great moment because anyone with a working brain knew it was just a moment. They were in the middle of an awesome HHH/Rock feud and taking the title out of it would have been fucking stupid as hell.

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  115. So, there's a good chance Rollins is retaining on Sunday.

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  116. The whole match was done to set up Earl Hebner getting fired. And it was paid off with the awesome Backlash 2000 ending. Everything came together. Triple H got what he deserved.

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  117. On that show: Chris Jericho got a big win over HHH only for it to be immediately erased and then be reminded at the end of the night, that no, he wasn't on HHH's level and he hadn't gotten through the glass ceiling.


    There's no reason why they couldn't have tried to elevate Jericho since he was getting way over. And there was no reason them to do the six-man tag at the end of the night.


    What was the point?


    I also don't care about the Dusty Finish.

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  118. Well not for Jericho

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  119. Again: I'm as sad as anyone that his career was permanently ruined that night. But it's been 14 years. I've moved past it.

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  120. It was a one-night angle. It was never meant to be anything more. If anything, maybe they were testing the waters for a future Jericho main event run (which, y'know...happened) based on the crowd response. Triple H and the Rock were the main event at this point. The midcard was a really good place to be at this point. Jericho wasn't exactly hurting as a result of any of this.

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  121. Feel free to keep ducking the points to make snarky replies. They work so well!


    Also, 2000 was 15 years ago. Not 14. That would be 2001.

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  122. Edited before your post was up, but what points am I ducking? You're fucking babbling.

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  123. The Jericho main event run didn't happen for another 18 months and it sucked.


    He was shunted right back down to the midcard, jobbing to HHH twice more along the way. By the end of the year, he was dicking around with X-Pac and Kane.


    Jericho should've had a main event run in 2000 and become a top guy. Until his heel run in 2008, he never lived up to the potential.

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  124. That the whole angle just exposed him as just another midcarder when he was clearly ready to be elevated up the card. By the time they pushed him up the card, it felt like a consolation prize, and his heel run as champion sucked.


    Then he got sent down again.

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  125. Punk could have taken a shit in the thing and people would have chanted for him. He was so far beyond being able to do anything that would have made people boo him. He was CM f'ing Punk.

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  126. People were upset about the rumble win or the WM win, whichever, when the announcers were saying Eddy was helping him or whatever it was. Details are muddy but a lot of guys here were upset about that.

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  127. I love when people can't wrap their brains around a possible future idea because it doesn't jibe with how exactly things are this very second, or how they were last week.

    As a chick in a whipped cream bikini once said, things change, Mox.

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  128. Seems kinda crass. "Sorry your dad's dead and all, so here, as a compensation here's this reward we weren't going to give you otherwise."

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  129. Bret was on the sidelines already when that happened, and a senior citizen dying of kidney failure is....exactly the same as a 34-year old man falling to his death from the rafters?
    What exactly is your fucking point?

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  130. Yep. I was at work eight hours after my grandma passed away last month, on about three hours' sleep after sitting around and drinking/reminiscing with my family (she passed at home close to midnight). What the fuck else is there to do?

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  131. I mean...if people can find a way to complain about this specific period of time, they probably should just set down the remote and go outside for awhile.

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  132. See, now that would be interesting. But probably a little dark and deep for the PG era, unless he was driven crazy by his failure to cement his legacy and become the face of the company.

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  133. Yeah, I don't know if I'd call it crass but I don't know if Cody needs a storyline/match/title win out of it or something. If anything, use this opportunity to drop the stupid fucking Stardust character and let him just be awesome Cody Rhodes again.

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  134. Fans are assholes. (Well, maybe not all of them...but too many of them are...)

    You can't send a wrestler, face or heel, into the crowd any more without asshole fans trying to get into the shot (ignoring the wrestler) or trying to grab the wrestler (ignoring the action) or, worse, thinking they can stand up to the wrestler either with words or physically (putting themselves into the action).

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  135. I'd keep Reigns and Ambrose as friends for a while. But that's me. I would still have the Shield together if I booked things.

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  136. Eh, they could've maybe stayed together through Summerslam of last year but that's about as far as I'd go with it. I've enjoyed the Reigns/Ambrose dynamic in recent weeks but it really feels like the setup for one of them turning on the other, probably Reigns turning on Ambrose.

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  137. This is one area where I think the limited "face vs heel" dynamic limits wrestling...and a more robust alignmet system (think the dual law/chaos, good/evil axes of AD&D) would provide more interesting storylines.

    Bo Dallas and Bad News Barrett should have been allowed to be "heels who get cheered"--do their catchphrases which the fans cheer but be bad guys at the same time...and then, occasionally, they meet up with bad ass heels and are allowed to play the role of temporary faces in those feuds.

    The fact that Bo Dallas and Bad News Barrett were over should NEVER have been a problem that needed fixing--especially when so few characters are over right now.

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  138. Since Cena is now focused on his feud Owens that is red hat, perhaps he's worn out his usefulness as US Champ and has done enough to bring the belt back. Why not put this on Cody as a way to honor Dusty and put the rocket back on Cody, who has stepped up before when asked?

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  139. You really have your grumpy pants on today, sir.

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  140. I think they're both good heels and Ambrose is a way more over face that's connected with the crowd much better (though I'm not anti-Reigns by any stretch, I think he's doing great and has arguably been the second-most valuable week-in, week-out performer of 2015 behind Cena). If one of them does turn, I definitely think it should be Reigns turning on Ambrose. That said, I agree that the Shield reforming to keep the belt away from Lesnar is the way to go.

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  141. And the following Raw, Bray can beat him in a Hell In The Cell TLCS street fight by touching all four corners.

    I'm on board for this.

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  142. At least the person who emailed this question didn't call it a "controversial" idea. Was anybody in the WWE's target demo even alive when Dusty was executive producer of NWA?

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  143. I like that idea. He should also wear Ferrari sunglasses. Hell you could even tie it into the WWE Network. Have Sandow say that's he's been watching it and learning from it.

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  144. I like how Savage did it, with muscle flexing.

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  145. I'd go longer on it with Cody saying he's done with Stardust and wants to win the WHC. Give him a win streak to build to a match with Rollins.

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  146. I had this idea, and posted it, minutes after the news broke.

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  147. Guys here being upset is probably not a barometer for how good or bad something is.

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  148. Why not? They used to do it on all the USA shows before. Maybe USA doesn't want that, but those segments also helped kill time.

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  149. I'd be down for that. Would be a great match, at least, and they could even play off the incredible Rhodes/Shield stuff from two years ago if they wanted to.

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  150. I just realized that if you do this the matchups have a little more suspense because there isn't the "Cena can't lose" vibe on them.

    Then can you imagine the eventual Rusev fight?

    (Although frankly if they went all this way them re-enacting Dusty and Nikita would appeal to me, but I'm def not the target demo)

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  151. This goes for a lot of things, but I miss the pre- social media days when they didn't seem so self-conscious of every single thing they were doing.

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  152. "and the champions get older every
    week."

    Er...I get what you mean but..

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  153. Maybe Finlay was trying to make people care about these hacks like Flynn and Knobbs. He could have asked to be put over those guys. Maybe they were friends. I don't know, just sayin.

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  154. this would be true

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  155. Win back the fans...? The fans at EC wet their friggin' pants when Ambrose was announced the winner.

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  156. I think they still had access to the AAA guys like SIlver King, La Parka, El Dandy, Hector Garza - and those dudes are all phenomenal. Plus Rey, Kidman, Psicosis, Lash, Chavo, Lenny Lane, Brad fucking Armstrong being wasted. They HAD a great cruiserweight roster, but its was booked into oblivion. Completely fucking buried deeper than anything, Oklahoma is/was a fucking joke. Him being champion said, "This division is a joke and is dead." Not to mention the fact (and I'm coming from the WRITERS PERSPECTIVE HERE IE: RUSSO/OKLAHOMA) that a woman won the title, which must mean its a fucking joke. I mean, if a woman could win the title, than ANYONE could, including an overweight, overpaid, sorry excuse for a writer. Gaaah, fuck those guys.

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  157. Maybe Brock beats up Kofi backstage to take his spot in the match and the briefcase so that's why they're wrestling in Japan.

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  158. It definitely does but that doesn't mean I'm gonna like it. I was in the audience when Hall turned on Nash and it shaped me as a wrestling fan. It was dumb and stupid to break up super friends in 1998 and it's dumb and stupid now.

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  159. I made a comment in a Facebook group in reply to a post made early this month, talking about how we got two Dusty finishes within a two week period, it said "Do you think we'll get a string of Dusty Finishes now, as some sort of sick tribute? It seems like it would be something this writing staff would do while instructing JBL to "explain" it to the fans at home by screaming "IT'S A DUSTY FINISH, MAGGLE!"

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  160. Technically, WWE can add as many matches to Brock's deal as they wish as long as they pay the contracted rate per bout. I think it's four matches guaranteed per year and then any more costs extra.

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  161. kbwrestlingreviewsJune 13, 2015 at 6:13 PM

    Then he needs new friends.

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  162. We need to see Cody vs Stardust

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  163. Everybody who watched that raw remembers that.

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  164. Where's the nightly thread? I passed on going out so I could drink beer and watch hockey while making sarcastic comments about Bret Hart online for nothing!

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  165. Virgil's Gimmick TableJune 13, 2015 at 6:43 PM

    All to impress a bunch of smarks who turn their backs on them once they finally get to WWE.

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  166. The distraction rollup should job to the Dusty Finish.

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  167. This has probably been mentioned a thousand times but I havent seen it. I can see a kerwin white/chavo thing happening where he goes back to being cody with not much said. Hopefully Randy Orton won't come out and say Dusty is in hell.

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  168. Tank wasn't a great shooter. I never watched Kimbo, so I can't say if he was Kimbo. I do know he was more of a amuter tough guy.

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  169. I heard King Curtis and Prince weren't even related.

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  170. I liked Mike Graham on the WWE 24/7 network. I'm sorry he ended up taking his own life a few years back. He was a interesting fellow to say the least.

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  171. The whole Sid vs. Nash crud was a disaster.

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  172. Or when he lost the T and decided to become GI Bro.

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  173. Hogan actually jobbed to Vampyro during the Russo era.

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  174. If he had changed his name to Vampyro, I could have lived with him being champion.

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  175. Let's have Lanny Poffo come out and challenge for the title to honor his brother!


    Then he can job the title to one of Warrior's kids!

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  176. My point is do we really need to make another angle out of someone's death before the body even gets cold?

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  177. Paul Roma no sold Wright and was fired. Duggan was just brawling and trying to make the match interesting.

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  178. - doing the ten punch count on a heel, and jumping off the ropes and hitting another heel trying to sneak in,

    - after an opponent kicks out of a pin attempt, immediately grabbing a hold

    - pulling a guy by the legs nuts-first into the ringpost

    - rolling through a slam or suplex attempt and maintaining a hold

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  179. in my mind, at the time, i knew it was only a matter of time before jericho would become a main eventer (which he did) so this match in question imo helped jericho in the short and long term. the moment he pinned H is one of the most memorable in raw history anyways

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  180. Babyfaces press slamming one heel into another is a good tag team spot, too.

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  181. Seriously, the blog underrates how over Ambrose is with the audience.

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  182. Calling out individual fans a la Flair with the "Shut your mouth, fat boy!" I know this is still done to a certain degree but it's almost always lame as hell or generic.

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  183. Loco gringo Baker is back. Muy bien!

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  184. This song should amuse the locals thanks to the title (it's kind of catchy too) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVV9kbi0b1c

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  185. I really missed out on a good opportunity to go to this and provide the FIRST EVER GFW REVIEW!

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  186. By 2001 he had Trish Stratus, Molly Holly and Victoria as friends, so I think he did alright.

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  187. Didn't work in 1995. Didn't work in 2000.

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  188. It would've helped him had he not eaten a Pedigree two hours later.


    He didn't become a main eventer for another 18 months.

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  189. Oprah NoodlemantraJune 13, 2015 at 9:06 PM

    Talking with the TNA guys who came into our local indie fed, guys like AJ and Jay Lethal preferred the 4 sided ring overall.

    They both said it would always mess up their Irish whips, you'd wait for the bounce back and they'd be in the corner instead. Small thing for sure, but still unnerving they said.

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  190. And through netting

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  191. Well since we're throwing things out there that WWE probably won't do...

    Kofi is out at ringside for TND's defense tomorrow night and gets injured somehow. They announce an open spot for MITB which is filled by Cody Rhodes who wins and dedicates the win to Dusty. Whether he cashes in and wins or not depends on how over he gets (or doesn't get), of course.

    I'd take anything over the Foregone Conclusion of Roman winning and I can't see anyone else currently in the match winning it so why not?

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  192. Harlan Leverage IIIJune 13, 2015 at 10:01 PM

    Lesnar's trash talk during his title loss to Eddie Guerrero is a big part of why it's my favorite match ever.

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  193. I don't know that Dusty's death needs to have storyline implications. If Cody is down with it, then fine. But the guy's dad just died. He very well might want to go out there and do something for him, but it is a situation in which he has complete creative control for that night because it really is nobody else's concern.

    If he thinks that he jobbing in any form wouldn't be something he would want to do to honor his dad, he should be able to veto the idea and just not work that night. I don't mean he can book himself to a championship.

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  194. kbwrestlingreviewsJune 13, 2015 at 10:52 PM

    Alright yeah, but Flynn still has better hair.

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  195. I always enjoyed that! Similarly, when a face would do a takedown on a heel (arm drag, hip toss, whatever), and the heel then complained to the ref that the face pulled his trunks/tights.

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  196. Stephanie didn't get thrown in a garbage truck to wrap the angle. Something is wrong here...

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  197. "no one is really expecting him to walk out as the champion anyway"

    This kind of situation that's one of the main reasons I no longer spend money on wwe. I like long-term booking but not when it's so obvious every match that isn't against Reigns or Brock seems like filler.

    ReplyDelete

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