Hi Scott,
Two questions.
1. I know that we all know that Cena/Rock 2 doesn't matter all that much - it's Mania and people but tickets for the brand name. My question is if they went Brock vs. Rock, with an entirely undefeated Lesnar for the year (no Cena loss) and Cena/Taker, how much would it effect the ppv buy rate? I just don't see this year performing as well based on the current matchups.
2. What matches do you really want to see as a fan?
1. According to Meltzer, Brock v. Rock is already penciled in for Wrestlemania XXX, so there you go. I think the buyrate is going to be the same either way, to be honest. There's no real "superfight" to pop the buyrate massively higher, like the proposed UFC champion Brock v. Undertaker's streak match would have done.
Two questions.
1. I know that we all know that Cena/Rock 2 doesn't matter all that much - it's Mania and people but tickets for the brand name. My question is if they went Brock vs. Rock, with an entirely undefeated Lesnar for the year (no Cena loss) and Cena/Taker, how much would it effect the ppv buy rate? I just don't see this year performing as well based on the current matchups.
2. What matches do you really want to see as a fan?
2. Of the current guys? Cena v. Undertaker would have some awesome drama attached to it. I want to see Batista come back and see him and Brock beat the living fuck out of each other, preferably at Wrestlemania next year. Also, Brock v. Mark Henry? BOOK THAT SHIT. Mizark is gonna turn himself babyface soon anyway.
Brock vs. Mark Henry, you say? That makes me interested in subscribing to your newsletter.
ReplyDeleteHenry is already getting babyface pops
ReplyDeleteI think WWE should make a gimmick match called "The Hall of Pain" with Mark Henry just pummeling dudes.
ReplyDeleteI'd buy the corresponding action figure playset.
John Cena vs. Undertaker, WMXXX, I Quit. I would pay hand over fist for that match.
ReplyDeleteWe would wind up getting a Tables match so Cena doesnt have to eat a pinfall or submit.
ReplyDeleteBatista coming back would be a great idea, dude would be very fresh. I would rather see Brock/Batista than Rock/Brock.
ReplyDeleteHHH is going to have to involved with WM XXX, just give us HHH/Rock in a loser retires forever match, Im sure we would all be down with that match.
Odd comment. Cena has ate WrestleMania pins from Orton, Miz, and Rock. Somehow I don't see him putting up a fuss about getting pinned by the Undertaker.
ReplyDeleteRick Zarda. Wrestlemania. Book it.
ReplyDeleteThats true but jobbing out your franchise guy to a guy most likely retiring isnt the smartest business move.
ReplyDeleteI also didnt mean Cena would put up an argument about doing the job, meant WWE.
Speaking of Mark Henry, I'm kinda hoping they just do Henry vs. Ryback for this year's WrestleMania. They've done the Shield vs. Ryback, Sheamus, and _____ too many times already, with Shield coming out on top. At this point, just end it with Shield getting the upper hand. Just give Ryback and Sheamus something else to do (and just throw Shield against Team Hell No). Ryback vs. Mark Henry has that legitimate big, strong man match. And as for Sheamus? I don't know, give him a match against Big Show so that he can get his win back.
ReplyDeleteSo if they end up turning Henry face, will he morph into smiling goofy Mark Henry?
ReplyDeleteThey jobbed him out to a guy who didn't wrestle again for another nine or so months. I doubt they'd mind jobbing him in what appears to be a rite of passage.
ReplyDeleteSomebody going to get their neck rubbed!
ReplyDeleteI'd do Sheamus/Orton at mania (they were building up to it before Orton got wellnessed) and then have Randy lose and turn heel after the match by punting him. Gives them both something to do.
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes he will.
ReplyDeleteCena jobbing doesn't matter. He's the focus of the show - doesn't matter if he's not as popular as other guys on the show, doesn't matter if he's not champion, doesn't matter if he lost the night before, it's still Raw - starring John Cena.
ReplyDeleteYour second paragraph is the best sentence written on here in a long time.
ReplyDeleteIf someone would have told me that in the 2010's that Mark Henry would be a smark favorite....well, I probably would not have believed that, is the only way to finish that sentence.
ReplyDeleteI would like one more Rock/HHH match before I die, and also a Rock/HHH feud retrospective.
ReplyDeleteYou, me, Scott and everybody else.
ReplyDeleteDud was fucking terrible when he started, and somehow got worse before he got better. I have no idea why they stuck with him for so long.
"Now ya'll know I wouldn't be out here splitting wigs without the support of the WWE universe!"
ReplyDeleteI'd be down with that, too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch Raw last week but from what I read of the results, could they be building to a Ryback turn and Ryback vs. Shemaus at 'Mania? I think Orton/Sheamus was the original idea but they've done nothing to build to it, so you'd think they've reconsidered.
ReplyDeleteI agree a Shield vs. Hell No match is preferable to Shield vs. Ryback and more friends of his choosing.
The Iron Man match was awesome even with the messed up ending
ReplyDeleteThat's what scares me.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, he should be the babyface that the heels are terrified of, like the Undertaker back in the day.
It'll be Raw starring John Cena even if he were to end up like Droz.
ReplyDeleteIf he had come along in the 80's, Henry would've made 14 quantipullion dollars with Hogan.
ReplyDeleteI had to make up a number. That's how many dollars.
I can't think of a match that would offer more intrigue as to the outcome.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I noticed this after Henry was eliminated from the Elimination Chamber while the cameras focused on him walking away, which some of the fans took as a cue to start giving him a standing ovation but it turned out it was because he was going to run back him and destroy the other competitors.
ReplyDeleteSomebody gonna get their wig brushed!
ReplyDeleteCena: "You can't see me!"
ReplyDelete* LIGHTS GO OUT*
DONG!
Taker: "Who can't see who now bitch?"
Turning dudes face over some cheers is a poor way to conduct business.
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy but outside of the Survivor Series tournament, the Iron Man match may be the best Russorific booking of all time.
ReplyDeleteCena jobbing to the Miz wasn't the smartest business move either. But they did it. If they see dollars, they'll follow whatever crazy whim Vince is on at that moment.
ReplyDeleteOnly if H loses.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, we already had smiling goofy Mark Henry a few years ago and he cited that as his exact reason for turning heel in the first place. So when it happens again, it's going to make even less sense.
ReplyDeleteIf Henry's heading towards babyface-dom, they may as well make him the third man for Sheamus and Ryback's team against the Shield at WM.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best idea I've heard in a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt better not be defective, like the toy version of Raven's Clockwork Orange House of Fun.
ReplyDeleteExactly my thoughts, but that's what they do with faces. Even Punk got seriously nutured. I say just keep him a heel, let the people cheer. Half the audience has been booing Cena forever and he's still a "face", so no biggie.
ReplyDeleteIt was better than the tournament, might be the most overlooked match ever.
ReplyDeleteAt this point it really doesnt matter, it seems like everybody is tired of both of em.
ReplyDeleteAgreed , he wouldve been the perfect opponent.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a shame it took them this long to book Henry the way they do since about 2010.
ReplyDeleteImagine if they went right to this current Henry back in the 90s rather than Sexual Chocolate?
I thought they booked him well in ECW. That was the first time I could ever stand him. I remember really liking his feuds with Finlay and Matt Hardy. But his time there was kind of like a prototype for what they've done with him since 2011, I think, since he was actually booked like a monster.
ReplyDeleteI think The Undertaker vs The Rock could be the biggest draw of them all. Even bigger than Taker vs Cena or Rock vs Brock.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Scott's review of their King of the Ring 99' match?
ReplyDeleteKeep him a heel. They can turn him when he's on his farewell run,.
ReplyDeleteWWE has gone a few years having Cena as the top 'smiling goofy' face and Orton as the 'tough, bad-ass' top face, so Henry can take Orton's spot in that equation.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible, but Orton hasn't been positioned as the #2 face in a few years. Punk and now Sheamus (and even ADR) are all ahead of him.
ReplyDeleteI'm gunna say it: Why does everyone love Batista now, but thought he fucking sucked big dicks at the time? He finally leant to cut a promo in his final heel spell. Cool.
ReplyDeleteThey should do 'Taker vs. Bruno Sammartino. Anyone who thought the HHH Tombstone spot was suspenseful would go nuts for that match-up. And it would finally be something fresh...in a manner of speaking.
ReplyDeleteThat ppv was just on classics, watched the match for the first time since it aired live, and DAMN! (in my ron simmons voice) I forgot how great of a match that one was.
ReplyDeleteMostly because his last heel run, which lasted a couple of years, was awesome. He finally hit on the perfect character and played it to perfection. His matches were good for a dude his size and since he now has some MMA background, the idea of him and Brock stiffing the shit out of each other with the element of pro wrestling thrown in is very enticing.
ReplyDeletethey signed him to some crazy ten year guaranteed contract or some shit in 96, thats why they stuck with him.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a much bigger spectacle now, but they always had awful chemistry together.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't even bad before his heel run, his face character just got stale. It wasn't like he was shitty in-ring and was cutting bad promos, he just ran his course as a face.
ReplyDeleteThat too. I keep forgetting about that run because immediately afterward he started teaming with MVP, and that was pretty awful. Mark Henry rapping is not something I want to ever see.,,
ReplyDeleteNow Henry mocking the Great Khali's dancing? I'll throw money at him like he's a stripper.
There was this period after he came back from his first major injury after relinquishing the title, where he completely boring. Like, the character they had made for him with the Evolution feud all the way to the Eddie feud had totally disappeared. Now, he was big boring bland babyface monster. And yet, the fans still cheered for him, and you never got a "Batista Sucks" chant.
ReplyDelete(the exceptions being Survivor Series 2006 and that ECW show)
You mean happy and handsome?
ReplyDeleteBut the 3 Way with Kurt Angle from Fully Loaded 2000 was very good. And both are maybe the biggest stars (besides Brock Lesnar).
ReplyDeleteRock vs Taker and Cena vs Lesnar and the $$$ will be nearly too much too handle. ;)