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BoD Daily Update

John Cena's Injury a Work

According to Wade Keller of PWTorch.com, he has confirmed through multiple sources that Cena's injury last night was a complete work and used further the feud between Cena and Bray Wyatt. The single leg takedown was planned to look the way it did.

Credit Wade Keller, PWTorch.com



WWE Network Schedule for Today

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_76612.shtml#.UwyN0PldXIs



Kayfabe Commentaries Releases "Wrestling's Most Crappy Gimmicks"





Comments

  1. I can't wait 'til Wrestlemania rolls around to find out whether John Cena can overcome the odds, rise above injury and claim his redemption! #youvedoneitnowwyatts!

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  2. Well here's my wwe network update. Last night I couldn't play anything on anything. I got error messages saying I live in the wrong location and saying the media is unavailable. Literally nothing works. Just got up, checked on my tablet and it will automatically load to the live channel but I can't get to the menu. I'm not angry because I knew this would happen which is why I didn't want to get this until Wednesday/ Thursday but here I am. Hopefully it all works tonight when I get home.

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  3. Imagine if he didn't? How big that would make Bray?


    If Bray goes over at Wrestlemania, I think they have a new top heel. Like Vader when Sting put him over.


    Oh well...

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  4. I am surprised they haven't thought to put Cena in a situation where he is forced to overcome the odds at some point in his career prior to this...

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  5. Its working on laptop fine

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  6. If they really want to try something fresh, they should have Big Show interacting within the feud, on Cena's side. Then, during the match, Show runs out and CHOKE SLAMS(!!!) John Cena. Then you could have Cena feud with a newly heel Big Show over the next few months. I feel like they haven't wrestled since the US Title match that opened Wrestlemania 20!

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  7. Call me naive, but I have a feeling that Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt will come out of WM 30 as winners. If i'm wrong, I'm wrong.

    And I find it pretty cool that for the first time in 15 years, WWE actually IS acknowledging the crowd reactions. It's now clear that they know that the fans are 100% behind Bryan, and they admit that Batista is getting booed. That feels like a huge step to me, and nothing but good can come out of it in the future. Still not good enough for many here though.

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  8. I cant imagine Bryan losing to HHH at this point. It would be even worse than letting Batista vs. Orton happen

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  9. I love that there actually is a doubt though. The WM 16 and WM 19 wins set a precedent that HHH *CAN* get a huge WM win as a heel. So that makes every big match intriguing, because there will always be that little doubt. I love that.

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  10. What was up with the Wyatts getting nuclear heat at EC and then Bray getting shat on last night with "Husky Harris" and other assorted chants? #confused

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  11. Certainly worked me.

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  12. Green Bay isn't the most knowledgeable or good crowd really

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  13. Some idiot "know-it-alls" who tried to make the show about themselves. There's a fine line between a fun crowd and an a-hole crowd. Fortunately, it was just a few dozen people.

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  14. When Orton and then Batista acknowledged the boos, it was like WWE had suddenly become self-aware. Then, before they could say anything halfway intelligent, they slipped right back into that same old brainless dream state.

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  15. EC was in Minnesota, a good wrestling crowd. Raw was in Wisconsin, a bad wrestling crowd.

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  16. It'll be interesting to see what they do because last night it was merely "Yes there are boos, but we're staying the course" which, while novel for the WWE to actually acknowledge reality, is still tantamount to a ship-captain saying "There's a big storm ahead, boys! Steady as she goes!"

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  17. I was disappointed that Batista went with the "freedom of speech" thing. This was begging for him to yell out a McMahon'esque "SHUT UP!!!!" Oh well, there's still time left. and they're actually hyping a Batista statement on Smackdown.

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  18. I was thinking more it was a work, to get people on the Network to watch the post show. When I watched the post show and the WWE Doctor said Cena refused an MRI, I knew then it was a work.

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  19. Things like calling Bray an ugly possum are not worry nor do they make one of your top heels intimidating. It just sounds stupid.

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  20. TJ: I know this will shock, i mean SHOCK people, but I love Justin Watry on 411! (Good thing the downvote button is de-activated, as this post would break it I'm sure).

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  21. Does Batista have a contract clause that says"winning the title at WM"? Because he's gonna get a BatB reaction if he wins.

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  22. They've wrestled many times after that, up until 2 years ago. They were the original Cena Orton.

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  23. I miss down votes. Now we have to hold in our anger.

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  24. Next few weeks, Booker T has to talk to Bryan during the backstage segments.

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  25. The Brock- Taker match is going to be cool, but everybody on planet knows theres no way Brocks winning. Would have been nice to stick Reigns with Taker. These writers are lazy.

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  26. Same here. How can life be fulfilling if you don't get the opinions of strangers on the internet?? *jumps off bridge*

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  27. Joe Rogan was on that show!?

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  28. I think we are forgetting the real piece of news, the network is going to give Scott so many more page views.

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  29. There *MIGHT* have been a touch of sarcasm in that post... Just a touch. :)

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  30. Porn-Peddling Jef VinsonFebruary 25, 2014 at 7:19 AM

    I find it funny that HHH managed to get a match on Wrestlemania against the most popular wrestler in the company. Also the public is so conditioned to see DBry lose that when he takes that Pedigree and HHH does that slow crawl to cover him that make what he did to Booker T look like a fast count people will be indifferent to it.

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  31. The last overall good one I can think of was 26.

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  32. All HHH has to say is "Daniel, your kind doesn't get the big WM match against a guy like me."

    If they go through with Bryan/HHH at Mania, then they are smarter than I gave them credit for. God help the next night on Raw if HHH wins, though.

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  33. I smell an nWo Russoesque screwjob ending coming a mile away. See Triple H - CM Punk from 2011 as a point of reference. Actually Russo would likely book the match (really the whole show) better than what is going to go down as it currently stands.

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  34. WE COMIN FOR YOU NIGGA

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  35. Reigns/Taker will be WAY more money next year. Reigns has what it takes to be a big deal, but he's not even established as a singles wrestler yet. Too soon to ask him to handle 30 minutes against Taker at the biggest show of the year.

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  36. HHH;You're didn't go what you want! Stop crying!

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  37. I don't understand. If they were going to go with a fake injury, why go with something that just looked like a blown spot with Rowan just tripping over him? Why not have the Wyatts just beat him within an inch of his life? Was it an audbale?

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  38. My only problem with it is they seem to pull these injury angles with Cena WAAAAAY too often.

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  39. I think they were counting on his conditioning coming back by Mania. If he were in his 20s or 30s, maybe it would work, but he's 45.

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  40. Watching Canadian Stampede '97. The double countout for Triple H/Mankind was kinda weird but helped the feud move along by showing how their conflict couldn't be held simply in a wrestling ring. Falls Count Anywhere probably would've worked better though.

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  41. Ha1 Now their brawl is spilling into Taka and Great Sasuke's match.

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  42. Watching some Raw flashbacks on the live stream. Ah, memories.

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  43. Watching Vince roll his eyes after Bartlett ripped up a picture of Bobby Heenan (a la Sinead O'Conner on SNL), only to be followed up immediately with Repo Man attacking Randy Savage and stealing his hat? It's like angle whiplash!

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  44. I've thought about this, and I've concluded that we can't have it both ways. We can't call a crowd "fun" because they're chanting negative things at a match or person we don't want to see, but then say they're being "a-holes" because they're chanting something negative towards a person or gimmick we enjoy.

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  45. You need a more convincing argument, because if you have everything the wwe network has, you did steal some as they have lots of things that aren't commercially available and weren't in your life time. Way to attack me for calling you out on it though, I appreciate the rude nasty response.

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  46. I'M AFRAID I GOT SOME BADDD NNEE.... Oh... Bartlett....

    *quietly walks away*

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  47. I wish they'd just do away with the writers in general and establish a 'new Creative' team featuring guys with a wrestling background. The soap opera-background qualification for Creative members is just maddening considering how antithetical their expertise is at crafting interesting wrestling programming.



    Here's what I'd do: I'd create a new team and divide it into tiers: Tier I for up and comers promoted from NXT and lower-card comedy acts, Tier II for the mid-card guys and those who they are grooming for the main event, and then Tier III for your main event guys and returning legends. Have a couple of people float between the Tiers to coordinate a program that helps the upward mobility of a wrestler when needed and to supervise the writing from week to week, and then put one true wrestling mind in charge that could provide the overall direction and work with Vince. You could rotate your writers around every six to twelve months then to ensure that you get fresh perspectives for each level of your card, to prevent stagnation.



    Ideally, my dream (world) writing team would probably revolve around Paul Heyman, Ric Flair, Michael Hayes, Dusty Rhodes, and giving ultimate control to Steve Austin, whose business and creative savvy would make him excellent for the role.

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  48. "If they go through with Bryan/HHH at Mania, then they are stupider than I gave them credit for."


    ftfy

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  49. Funny that you say 26 since it did the worst buyrate of the last decade.


    I didn't have a problem with 28, other than the Bryan thing. There were 3 big matches on that card and they were all good. Felt like I got my money's worth.


    But 27 and 29 made me want my money back,

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  50. Only if they are DRUNK and/or WASTED.

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  51. Would that be a bad thing, though?

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  52. WrestleMania 27 is the gold standard of crap during the stadium WrestleMania era.

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  53. There was a big UFC PPV the same weekend as WM 26 right? If that's the case, no doubt it made a huge dent in the buyrate.

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  54. I'm so old, I remember when people here were flipping out because Triple H would never do anything to let Bryan get over on him after all of his putdowns like...put him over at Wrestlemania.

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  55. I'm fine to leave it out unless future episodes are more meaty then that one. If you do keep it in, maybe just touch on a few points rather than recap it properly.

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  56. Thanks for walking us through that.

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  57. I feel like they've been making more of an effort to actively "work the smarts." Making it look like a blown spot rather than a normal beatdown made us all think it could be a legit injury.

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  58. I think, in the heat of the moment, a lot of people have the (completely natural) tendency to overreact based on emotion, hence why so much vitriol can be shed on Monday night threads, only to see more reserved posts on Tuesday mornings. But the danger the company's running here is losing out on a window to capitalize on Daniel Bryan's lighting act. Eventually fans will catch on that he's not "the Guy" and attach their loyalty to the big thing that is.

    Past WrestleMania, Heel Batista is locked in for what looks like a long stretch with the title, maybe even to SummerSlam. You have Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and Antonio Cesaro coming up the ranks looking to become the next generation's "A+ Players", which begins shrinking the amount of the pie left to go around. Bryan will obviously be around in some role, but his chances of getting a good and proper run are diminishing the longer they wait. And when the crowd finally gives up hope, then it's a lost cause.

    Because honestly, I don't see Bryan with a realistic shot to make any headway as the true #1 guy until SummerSlam at the earliest, and that's a long time to ask people to continue to try push Daniel to the top of the mountain through sheer force of will power (and show hijacking). Beyond SummerSlam, you're likely to see the next crop of big faces supplant the current upper level guys (Sheamus, Bryan).

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  59. You are both similar, why would we be shocked

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  60. Heh, well the "shocked" part was sarcasm, but I remember one of the first times I read him, I was super tired and I borderline wondered if I had sent an article to 411, and forgotten about it. It's like he was reading my mind!!

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  61. The problem with Cena/Wyatt is that Wyatt needs to go over clean or this thing is either going to do no one any favors or, if Cena wins, it is going to MURDER the Wyatt Family's heat.

    The three things that give me pause:

    1. A worked Cena injury is the usual setup for an underdog-style NEVER BACK DOWN EVEN STRONGER #CENAWINSLOL Cena victory.

    2. Cena winning is always a real possibility in any match he's in (and sometimes ones he isn't), regardless of the sense it makes.

    3. Feeding the Shield to the Wyatts to legitimize the Wyatts to feed the Wyatts to Cena is EXACTLY the kind of booking the WWE does anymore.

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  62. People were mentioning Vince looking rough last night... maybe he's losing it all over? Maybe that BUSINESS sense that made him #1 isn't all there anymore?


    This is NOT 1996-97, and Vince is NOT a middle-aged "genetic jackhammer" anymore. He also does not have any real challenges or competition left, not in the pro wrestling industry. And while he never wrestled too many matches, the ones he did had to have taken their toll... as would the lifestyle he's (allegedly) lived


    As much as I hate to say it, this WM might truly be "The End Of An Era." Just not the one anybody expects.

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  63. Cena: Well, fuck.

    Network: I gave in to curiosity and watched Over The Edge. They cut out all evidence of the fall, but for the rest of the show you can see the blood stain on the mat and every person staring at it when they get into the ring. So sad. Looking back, I've reconsidered...they should have canceled the event. It's kind of sickening seeing all the crazy fans in the front row drunk and having a good time, not realzing they had just watched a good man die.

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  64. I don't understand this constant philosophy around here that anyone that loses to HHH or Cena is automatically buried or destroyed. Shouldn't it be the absolute, total opposite? They are built up so strong that there is no shame in losing to them, but if they pull out the win, it's a huge deal?? Like is a basketball team considered worthless if they lose to the Spurs or the Heat?

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  65. Watry articles are shit. His Ask 411 columns were the absolute worst. He doesn't know a damn thing about wrestling past 1997

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  66. I'm so glad Sforcina is back doing Ask411.

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  67. If you can somehow look past the tragedy and see it as a regular show... The most absurd thing of the show is the Rock having a kayfabe BROKEN ARM... And future main eventer HHH working the hell out of the BROKEN FRIGGIN ARM... AND ROCK STILL NOT TAPPING OUT AND WINNING BY DQ. I mean seriously, not a sprain... Not a slight tear... A BROKEN ARM...

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  68. HHH wrestles 3 times a year. THREE. Being in a match with him is a no-win situation.
    At least with Cena he's active and has been around for a long time.
    I'm actually more interested in how the fans in New Orleans will treat someone like Bray. Cena going over there "might" cause a problem.

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  69. "As for me I'm a little bitch who cannot stand others having something I didn't make/have the time or effort to put together myself."


    Fixed that for you.


    I'm sure I could find 100% legal copies of pretty much everything on the Network, and then some, if I bothered to look around and spend the time and money required. Copying homemade VCR/DVDs of old content that either you OR SOMEONE ELSE originally copied is NOT illegal, no matter what you or Dougie might want to think.


    Just ask Blockbuster... wait, that's dating me quite a bit. There isn't really a modern comparison, or at least I don't remember one...

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  70. Not really. You guys do the same gimmick.

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  71. I saw the option through Apple TV, but not on iPad. Apple TV connected to iTunes and it said it would charge you $59.99 one time for a 6-month subscription.

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  72. Has he actually put him over at Mania yet?

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  73. Honestly miz had more heat at that time than Batista does now.

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  74. I was actually about to say yeah, it's a double shame b/c watching it, the Austin/UT main event is actually pretty good.

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  75. Don Callis said that in the wrestling business, people tend to know either wrestling or business and not both. It's a shame, but it's the way it is.

    As for your dream team, for example... Ric Flair as booker let Mick Foley walk because he thought a character who couldn't wrestle a technical match had no place in wrestling. Paul Heyman's ECW issues tend to get glossed over, but consider he was sitting on Rob Van Dam for ages and chose to run with Justin Credible. Dusty Rhodes... well, they call that annoying reverse decision copout the Dusty Finish for a reason. And Michael Hayes is both lazy and racist. Austin may be able to sort through their insanity the way that Vinnie Mac kept Russo from going too far off the rails with Austin, but he'd be fighting an uphill battle.

    Bottom line, writing isn't easy, and the people we love have their flaws too.

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  76. Story wise, 26 was the last good one for me.

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  77. But HHH's last 5 matches were against Brock and the Undertaker... So clearly he only wrestles A-List guys... So his WM match being against Daniel Bryan is a huge rub for Daniel. And if he wins, even a bigger deal.

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  78. They've been jerking fans around on Bryan for nearly two years. He got himself way over on Smackdown of all places, buried at WrestleMania, kept himself over despite a heel turn nobody wanted, somehow found a way to make goofy anger management sketches work and still emerged from being reduced to a mid-carder in 2013.
    Honestly, the Bryan movement should've waned a long time ago, but it's stuck around. I think if it hasn't gone away through all that crap, it's going to stay as long as they choose to make him stay relevant.

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  79. JBL/Cole on Smackdown (and Tazz/Cole) were perfectly acceptable announcers. Not gonna win any "Best of" awards, but they were safely out of the "Worst of" level also.


    Honestly, it's gotta be Raw. It's being live, with Vince/Steph/HHH/Dunn/whoever the fuck in your ear EVERY TIME you say something. It's being told to "ignore what's in the ring, push something later". It's being pulled into storylines/angles with no rhyme or reason. It's not being allowed to be yourself, at least not for any length of time.


    JBL/Cole/Lawler, IMO, could be a pretty good team. Their ceiling is probably not Ross/Lawler, nor Monsoon/Heenan... but still solid and not something that makes you want to either hit the MUTE button or puncture your eardrums.

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  80. And who said this place has the same talking points year after year?

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  81. There's no match yet.

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  82. Do it, I like reading about pro graps, especially from someone who actually seems to mostly enjoy the product.

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  83. Those two guys have wrestled about 4 times in the span of a year combined. That's not something to hang your hat on. If DB wins, he beat a part-timer and has moved away from going after the world title. If he loses, well.....no need to draw that picture.
    DB's clean win over Cena meant much, MUCH more, and that seems like a lifetime ago. Shoot, DB's Street Fight win over Orton before SS meant more.

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  84. Thing is, this doesn't seem like a case of "well the smark audience doesn't like it but the mainstream crowd will go apeshit for it." There's NOBODY who wants Batista vs Orton. Nobody. That's not a big mainstream match, because Batista isn't a mainstream personality. He's significantly less of a mainstream draw than he was 4 years ago, and Orton's never been someone who people outside of hardcore wrestling fans even know.


    And Lesnar vs Taker is kind of a joke at this point, after how badly lesnar's been misused the last two years. I don't see mainstream audiences really giving a shit about that match either.



    It's not only a bad show, but it's not even a show that caters to their so-called "mainstream" audience. It's a card that appeals to nobody except the McMahon family and friends.

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  85. If they do the match, I think he will. He put over Benoit, and as much of a fan as I was of Chris, he didn't get nearly the reaction or popularity that Bryan has.

    Fans chanting "YES" at a football game is actually the exact kind of thing that makes Vince sit up and take notice. Unfortunately for Bryan, the WWE also has a guy who is in a major movie this summer.

    What I can't really figure out is the rumor about the deal on the table for Punk to work Mania with HHH. Bryan/HHH is the natural storyline, incorporating both on-screen and off-screen struggles. Punk hasn't really been involved with the Authority the way Bryan has.

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  86. I agree that those 2 wins meant a lot, but I totally disagree about the HHH match. It's officially the match I'm looking forward to the most. Few people have been protected more than Hunter in the past decade and a half... So *Puts mark cap on* Go Daniel Go!!!!

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  87. Oh jesus dude go back to that other website where you talk about this website and leave everyone the fuck alone. You're boring as shit.

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  88. That's true, a lot of it has to be the fools backstage.

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  89. Huh. The idea that emotion carries the day and leads to people dumping in the comments on my review hadn't occurred to me. I should allot for that in my replies.

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  90. Which is why you need one guy at the top telling the others "Look, you're not using this guy, here's an idea", or "No, that idea's a poor one for that wrestler", or "Let's tweak this angle, add this in", or chaos reigns. Booking by committee only goes so far... someone needs to be the chief when disputes rise.


    Ric Flair thinks Bray Wyatt's an average wrestler with a one-track gimmick? Then Flair shouldn't be too involved in his angles. Heyman doesn't want to push Bryan to the top, and keep waiting and waiting? Well, time to move Heyman to another angle with a real up-and-comer... maybe something with Reigns/Ambrose.


    If the others know that one guy's making the final decision, and that arguing it past that point is dangerous to their jobs... well, either you go through a few guys, or they learn to reign in their biases and dislikes.




    BUT, when NOBODY in booking/Creative even KNOWS Wrestling 101, then having that guy at the top doesn't mean much, because all he'll be able to choose from is Shit Idea 1, Shit Idea 2, or "Creative has nothing for you."

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  91. "And if he wins, even a bigger deal"


    You said it yourself, *if* Bryan wins. At this point in HHH's career, this is no good reason to have him win....yet, HHH, so he might win just because

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  92. The live stream works fine on the ps3 bit I can't access the library

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  93. Wow, he really struck a nerve there.

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  94. Your house, your rules. Do it if you enjoy it. It will be read.

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  95. I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but I love that there is always a doubt when it comes to HHH, due to his WM 16 and WM 19 wins. So during that match, I will be buying every single near fall during the late stages of the match. People hate predictable matches? This one is easily 50/50 either way, I'm looking forward to it!

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  96. I admire your enthusiasm. I'll gladly hope that I'm wrong about this.

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  97. The real shame is this is the most popular wrestling ever was.

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  98. But if it was a few dozen people, why didn't the rest of the crowd drown them out? It sounded like the EC six-man was getting a huge reaction with dueling chants, but the reports made it sound like the crowd for this match was pretty lifeless, thus allowing the dumb chants to be audible.

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  99. This all works if the guy at the top can make those assignments wisely. Do you think Vince is capable of that anymore?

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  100. No, he doesn't have the drawing power of Austin... but he damn sure has the longevity when comparing crowd reaction. To Austin, or any other main eventer in the last... 25-30 years? Ever?


    And I'd argue his "drawing power", if we could somehow adjust it for era and product focus, would be as strong as anyone outside the all-time elites.

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  101. Yep. I think some people want to attribute his overness to a "fun chant" or "he's the underdog" or that it's just a way to rebel against sameness, but I'd say the actual fact is that Daniel Bryan is legitimately among the very best at every single performance aspect of pro wrestling, and when you're as good as he is, and you understand not only how to work great matches but how to work crowds and play out storylines, you tend to keep yourself over, or at the very least it takes a LOT to squash your heat.

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  102. Okay, I didn't think this show was as good as Andy thought, but it was a pretty good show. I like long matches but the crowd wasn't into it which brought the excitement down.

    However, my wrestling prayers have been answered and we're NOT going to have Bryan v. Kane at WM, but rather Bryan v. HHH. Of course, there is the teeny-tiny question of whether or not Hunter will do the right thing and job clean, but that's at least a WM-worthy match.

    I can't wait to see what they decide to do with Orton v. Batista. They're opening acknowledging that the fan base has no interest in that match. I was thinking they might have ADR make good on his promise to break Batista's arm to take him out of that match, but no go. The way it's looking right now, the WWE World title match would go behind Bryan/HHH, Brock/Taker and Cena/Wyatt in terms of importance.

    Oh, and crowds: stop the goddamn CM Punk chants. It's not funny anymore.

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  103. I agree it will be a dramatic match, I just hope we (as fans) don't get burned again by HHH.

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  104. I mention that below... Vince might be at the end of his "career" and no longer capable of making those choices.


    And for as much credit HHH gets for being "old school" and "respectful", I'm not buying him either. Especially not as long as Steph is in his ear/bed...

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  105. I think it's good when there's a mix of old and new, but yeah, get rid of Batista, HHH, NAO and Big Show.

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  106. Abeyance and sarcasm aren't really friends

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  107. Curtis Axel is crying alone somewhere due to you forgetting him.

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  108. Everyone loved 28.

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  109. We probably should have just waited a week. Mine is basically useless now but I'm hoping it works better tonight.

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  110. They need to get everything working by 3/3 because they're going to have to start considering partial refunds if people are paying for a service where a bulk of the product isn't working. Lord help them if Wrestlemania day is chaos.

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  111. Hogan is old, tired, and just can't cut it anymore. Enjoy him being around as the legend he is, but don't get your hopes up.

    And that reaction to Hogan was not as thunderous as I thought it might be. It was good, but not mind-blowing.

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  112. A valid point - I know UT is around 50 years old, but he REALLY looked like hell, costume or not.

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  113. So can we assume that no news is good news for Big E? He wasn't seriously hurt?

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  114. I wonder how shitty an X-Wii would be?


    I'd rather a functional X-Wing.

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  115. I still can't believe that they're going through with Orton/Batista at Mania. It's almost like they're throwing down the gauntlet for the crowd to piss on it. All I can say is it better not go on last.


    I suppose there's still six weeks left to build it up and things can change, especially if any stips become involved for HHH to get into the ring with Bryan... but it seems like they're missing out on the obvious story of the hottest star in the company winning the title at Wrestlemania. I can see if you have a hotter program for the title, but this appears to be (at this point) the least interesting title match in Mania history, especially since this is the first year with only one world title in 12 years.


    I also took Bryan challenging HHH as evidence that Punk is gone and not coming back. Unless Punk is only coming back to be in the main event, which the title match would be a viable main event if you added Punk in a triple-threat because then the fans would have a large rooting interest in Punk.

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  116. GSP and Mir were on that card in title(interim) bouts. They were two of the UFC's top draws at the time.

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  117. Porn-Peddling Jef VinsonFebruary 25, 2014 at 8:44 AM

    ...YET.

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  118. Cena: Did this match REALLY need an injury angle? That beatdown would have been just fine on its own.
    Network: (skip)
    KC: I have none of the "Wrestling's Most" series... is it worth the buy? I'm still undecided off the trailers.

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  119. So what you're saying it, you'll let it play it out and see where it goes!! *thumbs up, cheap pop*

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  120. Was that a dig at me? Because I wasn't aiming that at the sniping that you guys engaged in last night; it was aimed at people who lose hope in the product ever amounting to shit.

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  121. We should ask Eeyore and Winnie the Pooh for an update on him.

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  122. Oops! My bad!! And I also forgot that his punk and nash matches were between his 2 Taker matches. My bad part II !!

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  123. ... yet no one mourns him. Not even his own grandfather.

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  124. I think the attitude going in is important. If someone goes in scared to death about the possible result, then he won't enjoy the match at all, and will just be relieved, not happy if Daniel wins. I'll just enjoy it, and whatever the result is, At least i would have been very invested in the match.

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  125. I'd say just cover the points that are actually new (interviews, backstage segments) but not all the panel talk.

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  126. Just the opposite. I want to thank you for bringing that to my attention.

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  127. Really? I remember tons of complaining about that one, mostly due to the Daniel Bryan loss (which seemed to ruin the show for many), and Punk not going on last, and Ryder losing, and the Cell match being predictable with too much "Resting" (aka, selling).

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  128. They gave it the injury angle because they don't think anyone will buy Bray Wyatt as a threat otherwise, even with two big dudes backing him up.

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  129. Last night was really strange for the title match. Orton comes out and openly points out that the fan hate Batista. Then it seemed like they belittled the match during the show during the Brock segment for example. Strange, strange segment. From the way it's come off, I don't think they are closing the show.

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  130. The most confusing aspect to me is that going Heel/Heel only works when you have dynamic participants who the crowd already latch on to (see also: Wyatts vs. Shield). Neither Randy Orton or Dave Batista are in that hemisphere; Batista has go-away heat right now, and Orton is utterly heatless. There's nothing for the crowd to react to, and it makes for an utterly pointless match period, let alone a top level (or MAIN EVENT!) match for WrestleMania.

    My purely speculative guess: Vince is going to sweetheart Punk into coming back for the main event slot with Orton and Batista to give the match something worth watching.

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  131. *Nods, Walks Off Into the Sunset*

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  132. That's fair, but then if Vince IS losing it, shouldn't someone else be taking over at this point? They're a publicly traded company, surely stockholders can also see (if they really care that much) what's going on. While I can't rule out just complete hubris, even with all we allegedly know about Vince and how he runs his business, I find it hard to believe they would just continue down this road despite everything that's happened.....unless Batista has a contract guaranteeing certain things....

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  133. Here's the problem with your analogy. A team loses to the Heat and then what? They play the rest of their scheduled season against the rest of the league.

    A wrestler loses to John Cena and then what? He ends up becoming Alberto Del Rio. It SHOULD work the way you're talking, but I cannot remember the last guy who wasn't a concrete and solidified main eventer that lost to Cena and didn't see his push stall out completely and his heat disappear.

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  134. Who would be taking over? HHH/Steph? Hell, they're probably the real brains behind this in the first place. HHH/Batista's friendship is pretty well known, and Steph would JUMP at the chance to get a "movie star".

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  135. Actually, yeah, I think it did. It stopped the Cena booing (which was badly needed), and it made the Wyatts look even more like badasses. And Cena sold it like a champ. That was 0.8 on the Steamboat-bell-to-the-throat-I-thought-was-real scale.

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  136. You might be right, maybe they don't care that their "conquering hero" is being booed out of every building he's in. It just seems amazing that whomever is pulling the strings on this is that out of touch with reality, but I suppose it's possible.

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  137. No, let's not pass this off on the booking to cover your ass. You just refused to accept what was staring you in the face and what every news site has reported. You tried to tell us they were running Punk v. Kane at Mania even though everything was saying Punk v. HHH and that's why Punk quit.

    You really believed Triple H was not going to work a match at Mania? Seriously?

    >He's dealing with the "main event", which he feels needs his involvement because it's such a disaster.

    Lol.

    >Chew on this: There's a better chance we saw HHH-Punk at Wrestlemania than HHH-Bryan but I still say HHH will play some designated role in the title match.

    Oh, I'm chewing all right.

    >I just don't think he sees Bryan as someone worth laying down for at Wrestlemania. Hell he never jobbed to Rock or Austin or HBK at Wrestlemania. He still believes only tippy top guys should get pinfalls on him.



    So he never jobbed to Austin (even though he never faced him in a match, of course!) but he jobbed to Benoit and Batista and Taker. So I don't see how that helps your argument.

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  138. Don't watch the Raws from 1993. After listening to Rob Bartlett, you'll wonder why JBL sounds so good.

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  139. I can kind of understand your point, but I think back and it's really ALWAYS been how it's been done right? Like during Hogan's entire 10 year run on top from 1983 to 1993, they built up a heel, then had him lose to Hogan, that heel went back to the mid-card, then another heel got built up. I'm guessing it was the same with Bruno, Morales and Backlund.

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  140. Don't forget that Bootista tells the WWE Universe how he feels about them this Friday, which I think we all know is code for something.

    I don't know how you structure this WM with these three top matches. Taker/Lesnar can't close it because there's no suspense there. HHH/Bryan feels very... Light. Like, there's just not a whole lot that feels like it's riding on that match to justify closing the show with it. If a Bryan win guarantees him a title shot under his conditions, or a Bryan win means HHH retires, something like that, I could see it maybe.

    The only other choice is Bootista vs. the World Boring Entertainment World Boringweight Champion, Blandy Boreton in a match that will get shit on from bell to bell so badly it'll look like a cow pasture after feeding time and that's BEFORE they turn Batista and run it as a heel/heel match. You'll have people walking out during the Diva Match Death Slot prior to the main event.

    No, if you run them on top, you gotta goose that match up somehow, but I cannot for the life of me think of how you do it. The only option is to convince Punk to come back, but if you do that, you're setting a precedent for all your disgruntled talent to just throw a temper tantrum and walk out when they don't get what they want, which is, pardon me, bad for business.

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  141. I can just imagine that conversation.

    "Punk, this is VInce. Our main event title match has no heat and is going to suck balls. The crowd will also shit all over it while it's happening. Can you maybe come back and carry this thing? Make it watchable?................ No, you're not going to WIN! Dave's in a MOVIE!"

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  142. Tell us how you really feel about Orton. :)

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  143. Yeah, generally, if you needed a heel that was always going to be present on top, you had him steamroll a bunch of established upper midcard faces and take a win or two over main eventers who weren't "the man" (Hogan, Cena, etc.)

    That way, when Hogan beat them, they could still be easily rehabbed and were still seen as legit threats.

    Nowadays, though, under Cena, the new method of building up heels is to give them a few wins over some midcarders, have them call Cena out, Cena wins and the impression given is that the heel is a fart juice cheap stuff poopy whatever who isn't good enough to hang with The Almighty John Cena.

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  144. Well, Bray has pinned Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns in the past 2 months... I'd say he's for real regardless of the result. Still think he has a chance of pulling out the win though.

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  145. Seriously, tell us again...I love reading it!

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  146. The vibe I'm getting is that they're locked into Batista winning the title at Wrestlemania, so since they can't change it they'll going to acknowledge that they know nobody wants it to happen. It could be one of those petty Vince moves where he can't take Batista out of the main event so he'll take his frustrations out by making him look stupid.

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  147. The booing Batista got last night wasn't even your usual heel reaction. That was the reaction a reliever gets on his way back to the dugout after giving up 4 runs. The crowd seems more disgusted than angry.

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  148. I am so excited that they're going through with Orton vs Batista despite all evidence that the fans don't want it at all and the crowd is just going to kill it. I really, truly hope it ends the show to maximize what a disastrous crowd it's going to be.


    I honestly think that the company has to know it's going to happen and wants to have the visual and audio of the crowd reacting so much to a match. It's definitely going to be a WM moment, though not how they typically define it.

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  149. Bryan is the most over guy on the roster. He's not going to get any significant 'rub' from basking in HHH's glorious presence.

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  150. Even though it was a cheap finish, I think the fact that Del Rio beat Batista last night is a HUGE hint that WWE no longer has faith in Batista. They are 100% aware of what's going on, and the next few weeks should be interesting.

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  151. I'm intrigued to see what this speech he's going to give on SmackDown is all about. I'm also sure it's on SmackDown so they can put the heat machine in place of however the crowd naturally reacts so it gets their desired response with canned boos or cheers. But, if he flat out turns heel on the fans, I expect the Punk thing is happening because Orton isn't turning face for Mania.

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  152. I think Vince's "there are no faces or heels anymore" was actually referring to reactions. He's so deluded he thinks a stadium full of people booing and pissing all over a match is just as good as cheers purely b/c it's a reaction.

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  153. I found it very odd that he got pinned cleanly.

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  154. They've already set that precedent with Shawn Michaels a million times over, and kind of with Steve Austin in 2002. But if Punk comes back and gets in the main event, I wouldn't expect him to win it. He achieves his goal of getting the main event of Mania, but there's no need to put the title on him. Have Orton retain and lose to Bryan on the next PPV. Then you have Batista as a good challenger for Bryan for May/June, and maybe a final match with Punk in July before his contract expires.

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  155. Wait, weren't we complaining that HHH wasn't getting his comeuppance, so Bryan looked like a chump unless HHH had a match with him? Now we're finally getting that match, so what's the problem?

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  156. Also, Hogan at least had the courtesy to sell for them and make it look like the match took something out of him.

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  157. I remember people being pissed about the Bryan match. People were split on the Taker - Triple H match (I loved it). Everyone was really into the build to the show though and was generally pretty positive about it.

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  158. Because no one expects HHH to lose.

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  159. "You were supposed to be my friends!"

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  160. I agree that Bray needs the win more than Cena, but at the same time having Bray win could prove a boneheaded move in the future because no-one knows where the Bray character is going and he could just as likely end up Miz'ing his opportunity. Back at WM27 the IWC actually wanted Miz to go over Cena, which has become really stupid in hindsight. WWE would of been better of not booking themselves into a corner like this in the first place.

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  161. You just know Triple H has to work Mania to get that big payout. He's getting his boys paid too.

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  162. What Vince should've said is "The fans don't decide who is face and heel anymore".

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  163. That...sounds...good actually. I'd watch it.


    As for precedent? Punk already has a precedent for being the top T Shirt seller on the WWE.com shop and is number two behind Cena at house shows.


    So I would say that the precedent is person who makes a metric tonne of dollar bills for McMahon (See also, Stone Cold, Shawn, etc.) walks out, he can come back.


    I doubt that Damien Sandow is thinking he could get away with the same thing. (He's a smart guy, after all.)

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  164. The only times a wrestler has looked strong in defeat at WM in kayfabe terms (not counting Daniel Bryan's 18 second loss) was at WM13 with Austin and WM14 with Kane, so if booked well it would not be the end of the world for Bray if he loses, but I don't trust WWE creative in booking so Bray does come out looking stong in defeat.

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  165. If you have a DVD Recorder, if they finally get around to making the On Demand library watchable and if they start adding Clashes to the library (and they need to do something extra to make up for this bullshit) then you can pull that off.

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  166. It doesn't matter how many times you wrestle, what matters is how many stars you make. I mean if Shawn Michaels came out of retirement tomorrow and only wrestled once a year, you know he'd make a star out of someone, whereas with HHH the only guy he's put over huge in recent years is Undertaker, who really didn't need the rub at all.


    At least Undertaker is professional enough now that he only wrestles once a year that he always makes his opponent look strong in defeat.

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  167. And do you remember what happened with Brock? Brock came into the promotion with nuclear heat and once HHH got his filthy mits on him, his allure went away. That's what HHH does. He works with guys that are at the apex of their heat (CM Punk from 2011 being another example) and he somehow finds a way to kill their heat.

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  168. Yeah, what John Edwards is claiming is like claiming it's illegal to record movies off of HBO. It's not illegal since you're paying for it in the first goddamn place.

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  169. Even winning won't do Bryan any good if HHH basically buries him in his promos.

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  170. Only way they can salvage it is if they do a double turn.

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  171. If he dresses like a Diva, give him a standard Diva finish.

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  172. I don't entirely disagree. I mean, how many of us thought Eddie and Benoit were going over in title matches at WMXX?

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  173. I've had no issues thus far on my iPad...

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  174. There's just such an overriding "sameness" to the whole thing. Undertaker, Lesnar, HHH all in special attraction matches, Cena all over TV, Orton & Batista at the top of the card. We've seen it all before...

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  175. Having said that, I went last year and I'm going this year, too. It'll be good to get back to NOLA.

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  176. Why am I expecting a promo like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crKqKwHFcRE

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  177. I don't know man, some of my shits have been pretty exciting.

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  178. At the moment we don't know how the pre-show is going to be used on a regular basis and if it's worth watching/recapping. I'd like you to continue with the pre-shows at least for the next few shows until we have a good idea what we will get from them on a regular basis. Then decide if you want to do it permanently.

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  179. He jumped straight on the "You have that much content? PIRATE! THIEF!" boat.


    My response to that is "Fuck you."


    As "bad" as "piracy" is (and that's been a misused term since the days of Napster), the holier than thou assholes decrying "OH MY GOD, YOU'LL RUN WWE/MPAA/METALLICA BROKE!" get even more scorn from me.

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  180. HUH??? Are we talking about the same guy who 100% no sold each and every finisher in history??

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  181. 100% disagree. Brock *WON* the feud, and he was just as over and badass as ever in his feuds with Punk and Big Show. This "HHH ruined him" is just total HHH hate/fiction.

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  182. I'm looking forward to a clean Daniel Bryan win, with complaints that HHH (the bigger guy with more experience) got too much offense in.

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  183. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANFebruary 25, 2014 at 10:49 AM

    Del Rio seems to love it, the troll that he is.

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  184. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANFebruary 25, 2014 at 10:50 AM

    People aren't going to believe Batista is contractually obligated to win the title until he actually does

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  185. I think this match is going to be for Cena was the match against Evolution was for the Rock at Wrestlemania 20.


    Except Cena isn't leaving.

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  186. If Bryan is not in the main event at mainia I've gone beyond expecting for a crowd turning on the match and booing it out of the building and will be surprised at anything less than Hogan joins the nWo level of crowd reaction. I envision Dave and Randy being pelted with beer and trash from bell to bell..

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  187. Actually, you forgot to include like three matches against Curtis Axel in there.


    And look where Axel is now.

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  188. Hey Bayless! Did I miss the Blog of Doom Elimination Chamber?

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  189. It's not selling if both guys are actively sucking wind, causing the first row to pass out from oxygen deprivation.


    Shawn Michaels wasn't crying in the corner, he kept passing out.

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  190. It won't even get mentioned next week though

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  191. No, HHH went into the Brock feud making sure he came out of it looking good. HHH lost at Summerslam and cut promos how that loss didn't mean anything because Brock hadn't faced the "real" HHH then when he lost to Brock again at Extreme Rules, he made Brock sell for him and Brock was the one doing most of the bumps.

    Punk and Cena were the ones that knew what to do with Brock and Brock came out of those feuds looking like a star.

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  192. Intrigued? It's just gonna be a Cena remix, of which we got the preview last night.

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  193. He's the worst writer on the internet. And not just wrestling, but overall.

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  194. Agreed. Here's my take on that. I really like Cena as a performer and a person. And he's done a ton of shooting lately about wanting and being new stars and how it's important to him. I don't completely fault him for this, but he deserves some blame.
    They absolutely did not need to do the Cena overcomes injuries that would cripple superhuman to beat the odds angle. I feel like that takes away some of Bray's threat. And he's the best character WAS has had since Austin.

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  195. (Resisting the urge to make a "Stennick pulled a Benoit, and the show was canceled" post...)

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  196. Okay, "pretty much everything on there" isn't an all-encompassing statement. I've spent years converting my media to digital files. Regardless, I sincerely doing you've never pirated anything so try not to collapse on your flimsy ass soapbox


    Also I called you a jackass AFTER you called me disgusting so pull your skirt up and chill.

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  197. He no-sold finishers as a result, but during the match heels would whoop on him with no problem. Hogan has sold for dozens of guys before "Hulking Up". Back then, yeah, you knew the outcome wasn't in doubt, but people didn't pay to see Hogan lose.

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  198. Disagree, because he said he will boo back, which Cena does not do. Maybe more like Diesel 1996 remix.

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  199. I still hate his character and a lot of his booking, but that was one hell of a selljob by Cena.

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