> CM punk and Brock Lesnar versus triple H and the Undertaker
>
> I know they will never do it but this is the perfect solution. If the undertaker is not up to a match you can mask his problems in a tag team match. This one match has a lot of relevance. Continues HHH/Undertaker story, both Heymans guys tag up. Can set up Brock/taker for next year and Brock/punk down the road. Also takes care of us fans who have no interest in seeing triple H Brock one on one again. When was the last time we saw great tagteam match between four top guys that had a lot of relevance to the storylines. They really need to do this.
>
>
Oh! And Teddy Long can come out at the beginning of the show and be like "Hold on playa, we gonna have a tag match!" It'll be AWESOME.
Part of the reason I was rooting for Brothers of Destruction vs DX at Wrestlemania is because of the added element of Kane costing Taker his streak, HHH/Taker i think would achieve the same thing.
ReplyDeleteHas there been any indication yet that the Dead Man is actually going to do it? If they're going to have him at Wrestlemania, they really need pull the trigger on an angle. Even if it's just a vignette of a cemetery at night or something.
ReplyDeleteI believe the rumor was that if he was going to do a match he would show up either at EC or the next night. If that is correct, things don't look good. :-(
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm sure they can squeeze Undertaker in at the last minute, I wonder what WWE can do to make an Undertaker match big.
ReplyDeleteRock vs. Cena vs. Punk is almost set in stone at this point.
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H will be setup soon.
So who's left worthy of Undertaker's time?
Shield would make sense except for that Undertaker can't possibly keep up with 3 young talents wanting to go at full speed. It would make Shield look terrible, even though we know nobody beats Undertaker at WM.
Ryback's a face, and he's very green.
Sheamus' a face, but he could work if he's not wrestling anybody else.
Ziggler will be involved in the World Heavyweight match.
Same with Swagger and ADR.
Kane has wrestled Undertaker like 10 times on PPVs alone. Pass.
Jericho can be feed to somebody else to make them look better.
Orton and a rematch would be interesting, but WWE doesn't seem to know what to do with Orton.
Mark Henry could fit the bill. Big slow power match. But Taker has beaten Mark at WM before.
Big Show is in the same boat as Kane. Too many times at a PPV.
Barrett isn't a big enough name.
Cesaro isn't a big enough name either.
Forget Taker. Punk/Brock vs. DX. Let's not forget Brock breaking Shawn's arm in the summer. Plus HHH/Taker makes the result inevitable as Takers team wins. This can spin off to a Punk/HBK one off at summerslam. And finally Taker returns to end the reign of terror and beat Brock at WM XXX
ReplyDeleteScott, you have no business being snarky, seeing as how you killed Mindy McCready's dog. :(
ReplyDeleteShort of Punk added to the Rock-Cena match, I like the sound of this. Seeing Brock and Punk work together would be an awesome site and on top of that, you have them wrestling HHH and UT? Hell yes.
ReplyDeleteThis would be T-Lo's dream come true.
ReplyDelete"NOW HOLD ON A MINUTE, PLAYAS! We gonna have ourselves a TAG TEAM MATCH! CM Punk and Brock Lesnar versus Triple H... and... THE UNDATAKAH!!"
Which is all well and good, but I don't know that Shawn particularly wants to wrestle. If HHH wanted to form a new Stable where he was the elder statesman instead of Flair and they brought Ziggler aboard and Seamus...Maybe even Ryder (lol), to fight against Heymans crew. They could milk that all the way until Survivor Series.
ReplyDeleteSurvivor Series of Shield, Brock, Punk. Vs. HHH, Ziggler, Seamus, Big E and Mystery Guest (The Shockmaster?) which would break up Heyman's crew for good?
Just have to get Shawn to wrestle, which by all indications he has no interest in doing.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Those 4 could put on a killer match. And the Brock/Punk pairing could be spectacular.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that he didn't show up last night and was already rumored to be having some injury issues (from what?!) makes me think he's just not wreslting this year.
ReplyDeleteKane ending the streak and "killing" Taker once and for all would actually have some poetic justice about it.
ReplyDeletenext week is in dallas. either he shows up during/after the punk/cena match or he ain't coming. i think he will though.
ReplyDeleteface stables suck more times than not.
ReplyDeleteI've got it! Punk, Brock, Steve Austin, Larry Z and Arn Anderson
ReplyDelete(with Rick Rude's ashes in a jar) versus Taker, HHH, Shawn, Scott Hall
and nWo Sting. SMELL THE BUYRATE.
I think maybe it should be time for Undertaker to be done. If he only has one match a year and is still to hurt to wrestle a year later, it might be a good time to just go ahead and throw in the towel. I liked the last two HHH/Taker matches, but they weren't exactly fast paced. I really don't see him having matches that are too much better than those, and he is probably going to start drifting into late era Andre type stuff sooner rather than later. He had a good run. Just hang up the hat and enjoy being rich.
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to have a winner though, have the match get thrown out at some point in the contest or something.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm the WWE, I'd book Undertaker vs. Daniel Bryan and have Taker go over in less than 18 seconds. I mean that in all seriousness.
ReplyDeleteThe most mainstream pickup the WWE got last year after WrestleMania (ESPN, GQ, etc.) was thanks to the saga of Daniel Bryan. I'd go back to that well again.
Well now that wouldn't work because Larry Z is the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship
ReplyDeleteThat's true. There's precedent. Taker didn't win his match at Wrestlemania 9 exactly. Win by DQ after Giant Gonzales used chloroform on him or some nonsense.
ReplyDeleteNo Miz?
ReplyDeletePlayas, we gonna have... C-M PUNK... teaming up with... Brock LesNA... and they will face... TribbleH.. and his tag team partnah... THE UNDATAKAH!! ((Goofy dance and Punk and Lesnar make faces in the ring)).
ReplyDeleteNow here to sing America... the Beautiful....
I saw that Cranky Vince tweeted that Taker met with Vince last week to say that he's not going to do Mania and there's no changing his mind. Between all the BS posts, CV is usually right on top of things because rumor has it that there are several people inside the company behind it so I think it's definitely plausible that he's correct.
ReplyDeleteMindy McCready's ghost downvoted this
ReplyDeleteMan, this Mania is really shaping up to be the pits. Imagine if this is your only chance to go to Mania, and you're getting...
ReplyDeleteCena/Rock... AGAIN (MAYBE with Punk thrown in)
HHH/Brock... AGAIN
NO Taker streak match
del Rio/Swagger... while a potentially good match, it could happen on any B-level PPV
I thought McCready herself did that because country singers ALWAYS lose their dog.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're paying the prices of this year's Mania to go, on top of everything you just listed. I was on the fence about it last fall, then I saw the prices... and needless to say I'm waiting for WM 30 in New Orleans now (especially since I saw Cena/Rock last year and don't have an interest in paying hundreds of $$ to see it live again).
ReplyDeleteNone of it would have happened if Scott had just stayed at home
ReplyDeleteYeah, considering that prices will already be jacked up b/c it the NYC area, and then add the jacking up b/c it's WM, and you're paying a WHOLE LOT for some potential meh,
ReplyDeleteThis or Taker and Team Hell No vs Shield.
ReplyDeleteJerry Buss would still be alive too.
ReplyDeleteHere is a question I'd love to field opinions on -- does no Taker match at WrestleMania hurt the buyrate substantially or are fans going to buy it all the same because "it's WrestleMania" and has Cena vs Rock?
ReplyDeleteI'm of the opinion that the mileage the WWE can get out of the "it's WrestleMania" sentiment only can last as long as the show remains consistently good and satisfying for the fans, but I do think the Undertaker match is a pretty big draw too. As far as Cena vs Rock -- we've seen it and the TV ratings for RAW with Rock on the show seem to be coming back down to earth. I think a lot of those buys last year were 'novelty' buys in that they were tuning in to see The Rock -- and maybe some of those folks won't come back this year.
I think they'll still do around a million buys for the thing, but probably slightly under that if UT isn't in tow.
I was thinking the same thing and I hope they go through with a similar scenario mentioned here on the blog before with the lights going out during the Cena/Punk match, only for to come back on moments later with The Shield in the ring ready to attack but before they do the lights flicker and go off again and then after a couple of minutes they reappear with The Shield laid out in the ring with the Undertaker standing tall. He faces Punk and does the throat slash, however before Punk can retaliate the lights flicker off again and when they come back on Undertaker is nowhere to be seen confusing Punk. Cena sneaks up with an Attitude Adjustment and gets the pinfall setting up Cena/Rock and Punk/Taker. I hope they don't go with the three way with Cena/Punk/Rock idea as it will probably end up as just another generic 'two guys fight in the ring while one sells on the floor' type triple threat!
ReplyDeleteMaybe he would for the chance to rekindle his feud with Bruno Sammartino and have a return match from Shea Stadium so he can keep living off of it even more!
ReplyDeleteI would be quite fine with this. HHH/Lesnar would be a bore and we all saw how poorly Punk and Taker meshed together a few years ago in their series
ReplyDeleteI wonder if HHH had a hand in booking ADR vs. Swag. I know how much he loves the racist going over at WM. 8 P
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of ADR, you gotta give Big Show credit for this past feud. He really put Del Rio over strong.
I think it hurts it a little bit. Even with Punk/Taker penciled in, I didn't think it would break last year's buys because I don't think the curiousity factor is there for another Cena/Rock match. I think it will still do really well, but not at last year's level... I do think that no Taker would bring down the buys a little bit, because he's been in a top match on the show for every WM since 23 and they've built up the streak to be of greater importance than the titles.
ReplyDeleteInteresting question. The superbowl tends to have a slight ratings drop when there isn't a marquee name/team in the game. Superbowls with Dallas tend to shoot up historically as well as Green Bay. You would think losing a name like Undertaker would hurt the overall buy. Maybe that's part of the reason why Brock was signed for another two years? He's drawn in his two ppv appearances and was a big draw for UFC. The stat-nerd in me almost wants UT to be out this year just for comparisons sake.
ReplyDeleteActually since Booker T is in charge of Smackdown I think it would probably go something like this:
ReplyDeleteNow hold on just a minute dawg! You four fools yaking it up in dat ring just gave me and ma assistant T-Lo a helluva idea for tonight's main event! It will be a tag-team main event, the same kind I used ta be apart of back in ma Harlem Heat days with ma bro Stevie Ray representing 110th street suckas! So tonight in dis very ring y'all gonna see dat skinny ass sucka CM Punk teaming up with dat neckbone-breaking fool Brock Lesna and they will face one of ma all-time top fave five... ma boy Triple H, and he be teaming up with... OH MA GOODNESS... my dawg from Houston, Texas... The Undatakaaaa... NOW CAN YOU DIG DAT.... SUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Tremendous!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think the streak match itself has become sort of a part of the event, so removing it might hurt the intrinsic appeal of it for even casual fans who tune in just to see that match.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point -- I could totally buy the reasoning behind that. If they know UT is out and that WrestleMania is a huge chunk of their 'good news' on their yearly financial reports, they probably couldn't pick a better replacement in the short term that'll get them immediate numbers.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see the price this year domestically too -- it was $54.99 / $64.99 last year I think. As I recall, 27 was actually priced a little higher at $59.99 / $69.99.
ReplyDeleteShow came through huge for adr. Made his face turn
ReplyDeleteThat's why I think they will job ut eventually
ReplyDeleteFor the past couple years Undertaker matches have been my main reason for ordering. 25 I ordered for Taker/HBK and Orton/HHH. 26 I ordered to see Taker/HBK. 27 I ordered pretty much only to see Taker/HHH. Last year while my main reason for ordering was Taker/HHH there were 4 matches I legit wanted to see so that one doesn't count. Overlooking this years card probably the only way I'm ordering it is if Undertaker wrestles. Maybe, MAYBE if they do something really great with the Shield. But Cena/Rock II and Brock/HHH II if that's the way they are going it's going to take Undertaker for me personally to order the show.
ReplyDeleteSadly, it's not a bad idea, if the ultimate payoff is Bryan killing someone to become WWE Champ at WrestleMania 30.
ReplyDeleteI think people have been coming down too hard on the World Title match. Sure it could happen on any B-Level PPV. But as you said it'll be a good possibly great match. And that's what it needs to be. The World Title is at the bottom of the totem pole anyway. Not every match needs to be a HUGE draw. They have their big matches on top that will draw(WWE hopes) in Rock/Cena and Brock/HHH plus potential Taker and Punk matches.
ReplyDeleteThey have their 2 big draws every other match doesn't necessarily need to be a huge draw, just a good match that makes people say "Well they've got the two big matches, plus that Jack Swagger vs. Del Rio match should be good too." I think sometimes good matches are enough and contrary to popular belief "marks" want to see entertaining matches as well.
Still those top 2 matches don't do it for me personally lol.
It looks as though they are gonna go through with the Hell No breakup at WrestleMania. But it looks like they're turning Bryan heel and I was hoping they'd give him a face run where Kane forces him to "embrace the YES" to beat him.
ReplyDeleteWho was the racist that went over at WM 8? Shawn Michaels going over El Matador?
ReplyDeleteShow came through big for Daniel Bryan last year also. He helped get Bryan's character over in a big way. I respect how hard the guy has worked even though he doesn't really have to at this point in his career.
ReplyDeleteThe inane and pandering promos that accompany a DX feud make me not want it. DX was cool back in the day but those two are just unbearable now as a unit.
ReplyDeleteTaker with the Shield makes a ton of sense. Protects him if he can't go 1v1 and also the story would write itself. "Nobody has been able to beat these hoodlums so we're going to bring back the one guy that can't be beat....*DONG*"
ReplyDeleteYou had me until "Houston." Everyone knows Dead Man is from Death Valley.
ReplyDeleteSigh...that would be me. Growing up in Portland, OR I never got to see live shows, and certainly never a WM. To add insult to injury I left for college the year WMXIX came to Seattle so I missed out on that chance to see a GREAT show.
ReplyDeleteAs you can imagine, I was super pumped that WM was close enough for me to attend this year because I'm not willing to travel to see WM (just too much of a financial investment to justify for wrestling, personally) so it's possibly the only one I'll be able to go to for many years. Then i was lucky enough to score some advance tickets so I didn't have to scour stubhub for a good deal and/or get seriously gouged. I was pumped! And now this...
On the bright side, ADR/Swagger has the potential to be a great opener. I'm really digging ADR's face offense and the angle will hopefully be nuclear by then so that should be good. I'm assuming Kane/Bryan will have a blow-off and I've been marking out for that angle big time. Everything the Shield has done has been gold (please add Taker to this angle if he's too far gone for 1v1). And if Taker is out I REALLY hope they insert Punk into the main event b/c it will help hide Rocky's cardio issues - plus Punk and Cena have great chemistry. If nothing else it will be a great chance to shit all over Cena when Punk eats the pin.
/search for silver linings
HHH/Lesnar...yeah, no amount of positive thinking can save that.
Heck, break up Kane/Bryan, maybe after losing the title to two of the Shield, have Bryan instead challenge UT at WM as a big 'fuck you' to Kane.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually looking forward to booing as loud as I can. One small chance to exert a TINY modicum of influence.
ReplyDeletePunk in the main event has potential to really add to the match, I think. He's a good enough technical wrestler that he knows how to draw out the best in people (e.g. his match with Rock on Sunday) and he and Cena have some serious chemistry. Plus, a three way will help mask Rock's cardio issues.
ReplyDeleteThe Shield has potential. Taker can probably do a few hot tag spots and having five other guys in the ring will mask any deficiencies he has.
ReplyDeleteIt was John Cena going over Batista for the WWE Title. That white on Greek/Spanish crime.
ReplyDeleteWhat was racist about Shawn Michaels back then?
ReplyDeleteGreek/Filipino.
ReplyDeleteI guess they all look alike to you, huh?
I've been more interesting in Undertaker matches the last four years. The streak just means something. I don't really care who holds the titles now but the streak feels important. Without that it's just wrestling matches who's result really doesn't mean anything.
ReplyDeleteCM Punk + Brock Lesnar = best combination in the world.
ReplyDeleteIs he really the champ of some rinky dink indy fed?
ReplyDeleteI have no idea. I'm just trying to figure out why @Night81 mentioned that HHH loves the racist going over at Wrestlemania 8.
ReplyDeleteAt one time my fantasy baseball team was name Greekilipino after the nationalities of its co-owners.
ReplyDeleteThen we changed the name to Tori Black and started winning championships.
Show also worked hard for and spoke glowingly of Mark Henry, including that he'd love to have another run with him.
ReplyDeleteBack then? Why, has he been racist recently?
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteHis popularity is now a crutch -- basically wherever they place him on the card will work. He can get the crowd hot as an opener, and he can get them out of a rut on a long card.
ReplyDeleteThe only saving grace for giving him a run at the top of the card any time soon is that any feuds with Cena, ADR or Ziggler will be fresh matchups that people would want to see.
How so? I've heard he's a member of one of those churches that has a pastor that thinks that Muslims and gays are going to cause the apocalypse (which isn't exactly racist, though it's just as bad), but I've never heard Shawn himself say anything racist or inflammatory at all.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting that Mark Henry, Big Show, and Kane are having the best runs of their careers(IMO) in terms of match quality and character work all coming together? At their ages, with their size, it's interesting that all three have been pretty solid since 2011.
ReplyDeleteThat's none of your business.
ReplyDelete"The fact that he didn't show up last night and was already rumored to be having some injury issues (from what?!) makes me think he's just not wreslting this year."
ReplyDeleteFrom what? Try 20 years of professional wrestling.
I can see Bryan trying to one up Kane by doing what he failed to do twice: end the streak. Bryan runs full speed at the bell, gets caught by the throat and chokelsammed. Taker signals for the tombstone. Bryan reverses into a yes/no/lebell lock attempt but Taker reverses until Hell's Gate for the win in 36 seconds. Later on backstage, Sheamus tells Bryan to cheer up since he lasted twice a long as last year...
ReplyDeleteThat's one attractive whore.
ReplyDeleteFuckin' A.
I hope people realize that it's "WM" followed by "8 P" (eyes and a tongue sticking out).
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, for a moment, I also was like "Huh? WM 8?"
25 I ordered for.... Orton/HHH
ReplyDeleteAnd in return they gave you a big steaming pile of patty pie and told you to LIKE it!
I have some friends who are going this year and they actually never even asked me (which pisses me off) even though chances are very strong I wouldn't have gone (which they anticipated) b/c of both the time and financial investment.
ReplyDeleteOne of them is a die-hard old school fan, though, so him getting to see both Backlund and Bruno go into the HoF at MSG no less is great for him, which I think is awesome for him, too, especially since we're in Pittsburgh (I'm transplanted, but he's native, so Bruno means a lot to him even though he's only 30).
I do think if the WWE title match becomes a 3-way it does bump up the quality, although Taker/Punk of course would have its own flavor. And you're right, Team Hell No breaking up could be great fun, and hopefully they have something good for the Shield.
So there are definitely silver linings, and maybe I wrote the "pits" comment b/c I'm still somewhat resentful I wasn't asked to go, harumph,
Think he was referring to the noted bigot the Ultimate Warrior and his attack on Papa Shango, which could be construed as an anti-Vodun hate crime.
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you, never go into a Qdoba or Chipotle and try to order General Tso's Chicken.
ReplyDeleteI'd be fascinated to hear how you'd book the next six weeks of TV to get us to that point.
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea how stupid and pissed off I felt! It was a combination of me being an Orton mark, the heat of the angle coming in(which they almost ruined) with Orton punting Vince and DDT'ing Steph while Triple H was handcuffed, and also my fond memories of their No Mercy 2007 Last Man Standing match. I actually thought it was gonna be awesome. The joke was on me.
ReplyDeleteOrton DDT'ing and then kissing Steph while HHH cried out helplessly legit made me a bit uneasy. So visceral.
ReplyDeleteBut not enough, ya know, for HHH to smash Orton's head into obligaty (TM. Shane Douglas)
This sums up the book for the main event of WM this year perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAnd if this doesn't get CotD, then... I'll be a sad panda.
http://imgflip.com/i/nepn
I wouldn't worry about it too much man, especially since you got face value tickets... if you have never been to a Mania before (especially in the stadium atmosphere), you will have an absolute blast regardless of any outcome. They are so much fun with the amount of people there, the increased sets, lights, pyro, etc.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite angles on Raw. Orton played that entire thing perfect. And Triple H played his role too.
ReplyDeleteHey man! That's obliviacry.
I think it's obligatry. In any event, blame Canada and screw Flanders
ReplyDeleteWell shit. All these years I've been saying obliviacry.
ReplyDeleteThat's OK. All these years I've thought Bart's teacher's name was Krandle!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that, but that tag match has MILLIONS OF DOLLARS written all over it. Kudos to the person who thought of it. Seriously, how about Shield, Lesnar, and Punk against Cena, Sheamus, Team Hell No, and maybe Orton? THAT could of main evented Survivor Series.
ReplyDeleteThat would explain all of the dithering around with Rock, Punk, and Cena...probably trying to stall as long as possible to get him to change his mind.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that this has anything to do with Taker being too injured to go, and is more about Taker trying to get as much money as possible for working the match.
ReplyDeleteHHH is still mad about Warrior's hate crime against blue bloods at WM 12.
ReplyDeleteWell you CAN'T see him as the champion!
ReplyDeleteI slay me!
TOO SOON!
ReplyDelete(I actually had never heard of her before this story because I don't enjoy shitty music)
I don't think they'll turn Bryan heel actually. Believe it or not, I'm thinking this might be one of the two times where they break up amicably in the end. Bryan beats Kane at WM, the two hug it out, go back into singles but neither turns.
ReplyDelete