WWE.com RAW Preview
http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2014-02-10/five-point-preview-26180398
CM Punk Update
Punk remains completely silent and continues to snub requests made by his friends asking for an update on his situation.
Credit Wade Keller, PWTorch.com
How is Roman Reigns Viewed Backstage?
Reigns is highly regarded backstage as a nice guy who is eager to learn. However, it has been said that he still has a lot to learn.
Credit Wade Keller, PWTorch.com
http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2014-02-10/five-point-preview-26180398
CM Punk Update
Punk remains completely silent and continues to snub requests made by his friends asking for an update on his situation.
Credit Wade Keller, PWTorch.com
How is Roman Reigns Viewed Backstage?
Reigns is highly regarded backstage as a nice guy who is eager to learn. However, it has been said that he still has a lot to learn.
Credit Wade Keller, PWTorch.com
So the "Update" on CM Punk is "No Update".
ReplyDeleteAnd agreed on Reigns, I'm glad he didn't win the Rumble this year, and I hope he doesn't get too big of a match at WM this year. Next year he'll probably be ready.
Thanks Colt Cabana!
ReplyDeleteYep, status quo for Punk. Maybe I should put that at the me of every daily update until something changes.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking, IF this really is just Punk needing time off for injuries and they left on good terms, he'd be a total dick to remain silent, because WWE is getting tons of backlash from it. A quick tweet clearing the air would be so easy.
ReplyDeleteEither he really did throw a hissy fit, or it's a total work.
I'm leaning towards the hissy fit myself
ReplyDeleteThat's basically been my take as well. Beating the elimination record at the Rumble was fine, but he's not ready to main event just yet. There's still lots of holes in his routine he needs to flesh out. He's got a good moveset and look, decent timing and selling, but in between all that it still feels like he doesn't quite know what to do just yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool how he's dominated the "specialty matches" in the past year, remember he also got 4 of the 5 eliminations for his team at Survivor Series.
ReplyDelete"However, it has been said that he still has a lot to learn."
ReplyDeleteThis is what we like to call a pre-burial. Expect this to be brought up when pushing Reigns doesn't boost ratings by a million viewers in a week.
He's ready now. Push the guy. They're just making excuses for why they need to keep Orton and Batista and Triple H in the main event mix.
ReplyDeleteNo reason why they can't strap the jetpack on him after WrestleMania. He's miles ahead (ring-wise) of where Orton was in 2004 or Cena in 2005.
Just hope they dont rush Reigns to quickly to main eventer. Don't want another 2009 Sheamus
ReplyDeleteWasn't there an update last week that said Vince and Punk are communicating?
ReplyDeleteYeah. I love Punk, but all signs sort of point to this. OR one of the greatest works in history.
ReplyDeleteBut here's the thing about the "Work" theory. It reminds me of the "Government caused 9/11" conspiracy. The main problem with that conspiracy is that it assumes the government is fifty thousand times more competent than I previously believed.
If this is a work, we'd have to assume that the WWE writing staff is amazingly competent, and that my friends, is a tough pill to swallow. Plus, knowing WWE it wouldn't even be a pill. It'd be a suppository.
I'd like to see him in a Fatal Four-Way and win the US title (or the IC title)
ReplyDeleteNot unless Sheldon Benjemin comes back to get his WM Moment!
ReplyDeleteA triple threat Ambrose/Rollins/Reigns match for the US title At Wrestlemania would be a great match for Reigns. Let him win the title and rebuild that.... although holding a midcard title in the WWE at the minute is a kiss of death.
ReplyDeleteWould be a hell of a match too, potential show stealer easily.
Me too.
ReplyDeleteAlso to keep in mind is that Reigns has been well protected in tag matches and has yet to have a singles feud.
If they wanted to make the IC title mean something, having Reigns feud with Ambrose & Rollins over it through SummeSlam would be a good start. Or the US title, whichever.
ReplyDeleteTJ, but I'm reading some of Scott's old stuff and you can play a drinking game to all of the eerie Benoit quotes. For example:
ReplyDelete"Jericho fights out twice, but Benoit subtly moves the arm down to the throat on the third try at it, and Jericho is choked out at 13:27, leaving the title with Benoit, who now looks like even more of a bad-ass with a finisher that can nearly kill people. Hella stiff match here, too."
He was A HUGE Benoit fan.
ReplyDeleteUnless Punk returns at the Elimination Chamber, it's a terrible work. He means too much to be gone leading up to the launch of the Network.
ReplyDeleteDibiase NEVER recovered and Cody was saved by his Beautiful gimmick
ReplyDeleteRhodes and DiBiase gained nothing from that match though. You can make the case that DiBiase's lack of charisma held him back in the long run but that did no favors at all for Cody.
ReplyDeleteI miss masked Cody.
ReplyDeleteThanks for clearing that up, I’m a very literal person.
ReplyDeleteI’m not prepared to back that up with any facts at all. I’m just good at reading a room.
Give Reigns the IC title at the Chamber, and have the dissension between him and Ambrose over the US title and which one is better be what pushes them over the edge. Rollins tries to play peacemaker, and it leads to a triple threat with two titles on the line.
ReplyDeleteThey could have had a draw at 1-1 or 2-2 leading into overtime. The zero falls things really caused the match to drag at certain points when a pinfall could have helped.
ReplyDeleteI understand that, but Orton was a main event heel for a while, and this match basically turned him face, where he got huge pops for the following 2 years. So the match DID accomplish something. Again, not everyone can come out roses every single match, as long as someone comes out looking good, I feel the match did its job.
ReplyDeleteSeriously! Somebody needed to check on Davey Boy at some point.
ReplyDelete"he'd be a total dick to remain silent, because WWE is getting tons of backlash from it."
ReplyDeleteSmartest thing you've ever said here. It almost makes me think work.
Finally a valid point! I knew you could do it!
ReplyDeleteHate the gimmick or not but he's a solid worker with a good mind about the business.
ReplyDeleteIt's right there in the topic you guys made where you trash members of the BoD. You seem to be the only person who didn't see it.
ReplyDeleteI'm saying you defend it by saying how funny you and the likes of Dougie are, and how clearly superior you guys are to the members of the BoD by making a topic and ripping on all of them.
Watch out... sXe guys are the best women stealers... or so I am told...
ReplyDeleteYeah
ReplyDeleteThis Punk stuff is starting to scream work to me. Either wwe working the net or punk working his friends ala Pillman.
ReplyDeleteYea I know how prissy punk can be as well as everyone else does but I didn't think he would STILL be silent. I mean we are still hearing the same rumors of why he left but STILL none have been confirmed. Two weeks is a long time for nothing at all to be official. I hate getting my hopes up with anything wwe does cuz they either screw it up or dont end up doin it anyway. But im start in to feel like this may be a work. Its unlikely but the longer no one knows anything for certain the less unlikely it seems. But im just a smark what do I know. If it is a work though then its awesome
ReplyDeleteA burial is The Mega Powers vs The Alliance To End Hulkamania.
ReplyDelete"and this was from the period where he needed everything to revolve around him."
ReplyDeleteSo it was any point in the last 15 years?
Far worse is 411mania's "Update on Sting signing with WWE" they do everyday which says "No offical word on Sting singing, but rumor has it he might, and rumor has it he may wrestle. This is all rumor though, so we can't be held responsible for completely making shit up just to click-bait"
ReplyDeleteWork
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking the same thing
ReplyDeleteDisagree. Orton was already a world champion and main eventer facing his two mid-card lackeys. Rollins/Reigns/Ambrose have been presented as a team with no clear main eventer (yet)
ReplyDeleteOMG JR was on absolute fire in that match getting to air his grievances... "BREAK IT OVER HIS HEAD THEN SHOVE IT UP HIS ASS!!!"
ReplyDeleteThat crowd was really into Orton but the match made the other two look like jerkoffs at a time when they didnt need young guys on the roster to look like that.
ReplyDeleteThat's part of the "Diesel" push, just out of order.
ReplyDeleteNot gonna happen. Reigns has been deemed the Next Guy. He's going to get the. HHH circa 1999 push where ratings and buyrates are ignored and you, the fan, get so much fucking Roman Reigns, you'll have Roman Reigns falling out of your asshole until fans start to cheer for him anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a wrestler looking to break big, the last thing I'd want to do is win a midcard title in modern day WWE.
ReplyDeleteThe Shield cutting promos at house shows on Punk? Screams work.
ReplyDeleteThe company giving refunds to people because Punk's not there? You can't justify that from a business standpoint if it's a work.
These updates from the torch seem to be getting less and less informative each day. Tomorrow, I'm expecting the following "major spoiler" regarding Dean Ambrose:
ReplyDelete"Dean Ambrose is a professional wrestler under contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). At this time, he appears to be lined up for some sort of match or appearance at WrestleMania."
Still don't know what you're talking about. Proof is the best solution.
ReplyDeleteAnd I never said I was funny. Quit trying to prove your point by mentioning shit on the fly.
The thing is that he probably HAS talked to a couple of people. People he either trusts or knows they won't leak their conversation.
ReplyDeleteSo the headline should really read "Punk hasn't talked to anyone that will talk to us".
Ratings were at their highest in '99 and early '00. I'm not following your argument.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU! I have never, ever understood the love for Earl Hebner. He's animated to the point of being cartoonish and actually brings matches down.
ReplyDelete"Gee Steph, I just don't think he's picking it up quick enough. Get Pac on the phone."
ReplyDeleteYeah, if there's no head grinding into the cage, there should be no blood.
ReplyDeleteI would have Rollins turn on Ambrose and have Reigns take advantage of that to win. Reigns moves on and Rollins and Ambrose have a feud with great matches.
ReplyDeleteExcept that fans actually like Reigns.
ReplyDeleteIn 1999, they were going to get HHH over no matter what happened. It was priority #1.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing will happen with Reigns. Pretty simple to follow.
IMO a lot of this depends on WHAT Punk is pissed at. If he's jealous of Bryan, then screw him. If he's tired of HHH and Vince ignore fans then more power to him.
ReplyDeleteI think Roman Reigns needs to feud with his long lost brother Luther Reigns. That will get him to the main event!
ReplyDeleteRookie Wrestler is Rookie
ReplyDeleteHexican nailed this. If I want things kept to myself, I only talk to the friends that I know won't talk to other people.
ReplyDeleteWhich I believe exactly that has been reported before: that he's speaking to his closest friends about the situation, but they're not talking about it, either.
ReplyDeletePunk is incapable of shutting the fuck up about anything for this long. Work.
ReplyDeletePart of me wonders how this is all affecting AJ backstage. She would arguably be closest to Punk in this situation, since they were dating. I wonder if there's been any residual pressure on her by management or other people backstage. Like bullying her to get him to talk or something.
ReplyDeleteFrom the way we've heard how things backstage can be, it honestly wouldn't surprise me, which is sad.
If you were Punk, why would you talk to anyone in the wwe except Vince or HHH? He might be cool with a few but would you really trust wwe employees to NOT leak information to the management if they were pressed? I like Keller but he "reports" some stupid stuff. In sure he has talked to people but those people are off the wrestling radar or can keep a secret.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, whoa, whoa. Now let's not just ASSUME that anyone's going to be in a so-called "match" at this "WrestleMania"!
ReplyDeleteReigns brothers vs Rhodes brothers at Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he mouth has just been attached to AJs muffins the past 2 weeks and he's unable to escape it's allure.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you tho. It's starting to smell like a work
I like a good English muffin as much as the next guy... oh, wait. You didn't mean THAT type of muffin, did you?
ReplyDeleteCarry on.
Damn auto correct. Muff = muffins to Samsung
ReplyDeleteNext piece of wwe merchandise: This Stratus vaginal molds and John Cena vibrators
ReplyDeleteNo way, good sir! Internet reporters are of the not most respected! You can bet good money that CM Punk is either in a Panic Room, bomb shelter, or a cave on Mars with his fingers in his ears. Not speaking to a soul.
ReplyDeleteHe was also dannytreo
ReplyDeleteI felt the same about Taker vs HHH at WM 17. The brawl outside the ring was way too long and unnecessary, especially considering Rock and Austin had a similar brawl. Or perhaps this was HHH's way of trying to undermine the main event?
ReplyDeleteMake fun of would require some jokes.
ReplyDeleteIt would be Dong Cena.
ReplyDeleteOr you know....they don't take it personally when someone quits their job
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he could tweet while muff diving.
ReplyDeleteit's a work.
ReplyDeleteSure, James Cameron did it while sea diving
ReplyDeleteBrian always seems to telegraph his ref bumps.
ReplyDelete"Oh, here it is time for my bump! Let me just move out of this corner away from all the action and get behind one of the guys!"
And because hhh was probably insisting on going over on the match
ReplyDeletemaybe this one of the instances like awesome Jericho vs. Michaels feud, which is said to be put together almost all by themselves?
ReplyDeletebecause while I don't think usual WWE goons would think about this or could pull this off, I think CM Punk could.
OK, to find out what's going on with Punk we all need to chip in some money together to get Punk a hooker that will pump him for information (among other things). I'm good for $5.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the hooker would do the pumping.
ReplyDeleteNah, I think you want to live vicariously through punk
ReplyDelete;)
People who are calling Punk's walkout a work are deluding themselves. Remember the last time that Punk kayfabe walked out after MITB? He came back after only a week because WWE has zero patience in letting things play out.
ReplyDeletePlus if this was a work, you can bet that Punk would've been tweeting and ranting all about it on Twitter. Him not doing so suggests that he's really taking time off to seriously consider his future with the company.
my problem is that they didn't even make it look like as much of a big deal as they could. Diesel, Kane and others have really dominated the Rumble for a period of time, Reigns didn't.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, if anything Punk's interviews shortly after rejoining indicated he understood HHH's perspective a lot better and that they had pretty open dialogue ("what's the deal with the stop and start on Brodus?" being one example of something he and Trips talked about). I mean, he like many are probably shaking their heads at the Bryan thing but I never got that he actually despised the guy. But it's hard to really know when we don't know the participants too personally.
ReplyDeleteI advocate giving Sweet Lou a push. Make it happen Bayless
ReplyDeleteI noticed that, too. Although this was one of the better booked non-Pat Patterson Rumbles; they really miss him putting this thing together.
ReplyDeleteRise Above Orgasm.
ReplyDeleteYou initially fucked up my name again, didn't you! Haha!
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to reading about all of that in Jericho's new book
ReplyDeleteRise Above Masterbate
ReplyDeleteYea. I immediately started smashing my shit with EDIT! EDIT!. There's someone semi famous, think it's a street baller, with the name "Sweet Lou." Always instinctively type it.
ReplyDeleteWhile they were trying this the ratings stayed consistently high. So, by that, I'm pretty sure you can gauge them shoving Triple H "down our throats" as a success rather than a failure.
ReplyDeleteWWE really missed the mark by naming him Roman instead of Jesus.
ReplyDelete"Jesus Reigns" would make a hell of a slogan for a T-shirt.
They didn't have to ignore ratings and buyrates during HHH's push because ratings and buyrates were really high.
ReplyDeleteHe-Mouth, brother of He-Man.
ReplyDeletehe's too naturally smug to be an effective face
ReplyDeleteOne of the first reports from the torch that I read on here was "Undertaker is scheduled to wrestle WM unless something changes. " Literally this was the report. Terrible
ReplyDeletereigns' intro music should be "rain in blood" and his finisher should be called "reign in blood"
ReplyDeleteUmmm... After Batista won the Rumble, they aired of Montage of the RUNNER UP'S performance, showing all 12 of his eliminations... It can't be a much bigger deal than ignoring the winner.
ReplyDeleteWWE is PG and they can't show blood, so it'd be "Reign in Tomato Juice" instead.
ReplyDeleteWrestling news is unreliable again? Pick a stance, would you?
ReplyDeleteSurprised Hogan vs Sting from Starccade 97 wasnt mentioned because if you take away the long Hogan beatdown segment and make it a quck start for Hogan before Sting gets his bearings after not competing for more then a year and then goes on to squash Hogan to win the title, that match would be seen in a far better light.
ReplyDeleteEddie Guerrero vs Lesnar at NWO 2004 was a bit too long for my liking. I think they got almost 40 mminutes for that match which is 10 more minutes then the match needed.
"Wrestling news is unreliable" is a blanket statement. Only idiots deal in absolutes. Something like this isn't reliable or unreliable since it can't be proved either way. "Wrestler X feels like Punk acted in such and such a way" is reliable because it's reported from a wrestler. I can't make this any clearer
ReplyDeleteSo long as it fits your narrative, I'm happy for you.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of Vince repeatedly sending Punk friend requests and logging on the next day to not only see that the request has not been accepted, but he now has the option of sending another request.
ReplyDeleteWhen you retort with facts and a response with merit, I'll assume you are intelligent enough to have this conversation with.
ReplyDeleteFarva: "Only SITHS deal in absolutes... I'll do what I must..."
ReplyDelete303BathroomGuy: "YOU... WILL... TRY..."
Sorry, don't get this
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSwy412nttI
ReplyDeleteGotcha. Went over my head like a botched drop kick
ReplyDeleteI think they should have waited and did the wyatts vs shield at wrestlemania. And that's where Ambrose and rollins turn on reigns. It would be a great first time ever match for wrestlemania and the wyatts win to stay strong but since the shield combusted they stay strong too individually. Give reigns almost a full year to get over and maybe he wins the rumble next year
ReplyDeleteAlso it would leave cena to face undertaker. And I would love too see lesnar as champ and defend against batista and bryan in a triple threat with bryan makin one tap out to the yes lock. Beast vs animal vs goat
ReplyDeleteIt's more than just the wrestling world. I'm a backer on Jill Thompson's Kickstarter project. One of the incentives is a radio drama of one of her comics starring Punk and Colt, among others, and she updated us:
ReplyDelete"I've been trying to coordinate a time with the ever elusive CM Punk as well as Colt Cabana and others to do the audio recording of The Scary Godmother Book. It was difficult at the best circumstances to get ahold of Mr. Punk but now that he's gone underground, or on vacation or whatnot, I have not been able to get in touch with him at all. Bear with me. The man needs his rest and solitude seeing as how he quit his day job. Hopefully, he'll be in touch soonish so I can try and nail him down to do this recording."
And yeah, he's elusive, but she's Chicago-based too and not in the wrestling world (apart from contributing some art and trunk designs), so his maintaining that significant level of silence is kind of disconcerting.
I'll just summarize our discussion from last week:
ReplyDeleteYou: It was reported that wrestlers think Punk is a bitch.
Me: You trust dirt sheets?
You: Seems reliable to me. (despite no quote being directly attributed to a wrestler.)
Later on in the week:
REPORT: Some wrestlers okay with Punk's decision.
You: ....
Me: See? Unreliable.
Today:
You: Keller "reports" stupid stuff.
All I'm saying is, you can't just cherry pick what you want from dirt sheets because it goes in line with what you're saying. And all I'm saying (x2) is that dirt sheets are notoriously unreliable. I just wanted to reiterate that point.
I don't mind the non-falls just for the sake...
ReplyDelete1. If Shawn loses first, he lost first
2. If Bret loses first, he looks weak, more-so thanks to poor booking heading into the show
They could've done 1-1 on Count-Outs, but neither man, in character or not, would want that.
I have no fucking idea why they wanted to book Cena/Rock 1 as a 30 minute match.It was his first single match back, who wouldnt gas? I thought they would just go the path of Rock/Hogan, Batista/Taker, Batista/Cena. They were perfectly booked...brawl around, hit the signature spots, and go home at around 15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThen I'd rather have seen them do 2/3 Falls with a 60 minute time limit. Flip a coin over who has to lose the first fall. It fills the same amount of time, you can still go to overtime tied 1-1, and a proper structure with two pinfalls in that 60 minutes would have eliminated some of the dead spots.
ReplyDeleteHe's such a mark. Just watch him at any major title change jumping in the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteNow Tommy Young, damn fine referee.
Then the top rope angle slam off that shaky ass board. Just ridiculous
ReplyDeleteCan we call that the best match featuring someone that's not a trained worker? I mean, it's that and the WM2 and WM11 mains, those are really the only 3 options.
ReplyDeleteYeah, when it happened ages ago.
ReplyDeleteHBK/HHH Hell in a Cell felt like it went on forever.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly the problem. I find myself really wanting to like Orton nowadays, but there's just nothing behind the eyes. It's only when things go wrong, and he has to deal, that I've seen anything you could honestly call Personality. Calling him the Apex Predator while he poses doesn't make him look any less like Zoolander.
ReplyDeleteShane v Test, and Shane v X-Pac are amusingly the only others I rank.
ReplyDeleteYeah; it's not even really his fault. Creative gives him nothing. Stuff like RNN, Legend Killer, and Rated RKO has shown us he CAN be good on the mic, he CAN have personality… they just never let him.
ReplyDeleteThat's about 3 seconds too many.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to make a list of "matches that were WAY better than they had any right to be", Shane/Pac might be #1.
ReplyDeleteAnd I remembered why arguing with a drug addict is problematic.
ReplyDeleteLol. Get drug tested every 2 weeks...that's what happens to professionals. Just from your demeanor I'm guessing your dad abandoned you and you subsequently have a huge chip on your shoulder. Tell me I'm wrong
ReplyDeletePhredric, seriously, my bad. Even though I'm sure im right I shouldn't have gone to that level.
ReplyDeleteIf by abandoned, you mean got cancer and died, then yes, you are correct.
ReplyDelete