Hey Scott long time fan of the blog, I'm sure your mailbox is spilling over with CM Punk related shenanigans right now so here's something a bit different, a shameless request for a plug!We've put together a Podcast about the Scottish wrestling scene which has been picking up a bit of steam for a while now and we want to share our enthusiasm for it with you good people. Whilst its still early days we're aiming for it to be better than 10 Superbowls! I don't want to oversell it, judge for yourselves.Thanks for your time and enjoy!Tom
Triple H gets his kicks these days by portraying a severely bipolar person on television so nothing he does really surprises me.
ReplyDeleteCalling him nose is funny because his nose is bigger than a normal size nose
ReplyDeleteDon't sleep on the Polish scene featuring my boy Don Roid - http://ddwwrestling.pl/site/index.php?lang=en
ReplyDeleteBatista winning the Royal Rumble and cementing his spot in the main event at WM 30 was trully unforgettable and best for business!
ReplyDeleteActually Dave seems to have lost weight but he's still a bunch of dead weight.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is:
ReplyDeleteIf he's hurt, he should take off. Yes, wrestlers work hurt all the time, but he's been looking banged up as fuck since he landed hip first on the table at WM29. If you're seriously injured, you can't be trusted to properly protect yourself or anyone you're working with. That's a bad thing.
Likewise, if your head isn't in it, that can be equally dangerous in the same ways.
That said, if his leaving is in any way because he wanted to main event WM, fuck him indeed. You know who else wants to main event Wrestlemania? Nearly every goddamned wrestler ever. You know how many get to even APPEAR at WM? Not many. As I said elsewhere, if planting your flag on the mountain means nothing to you because it's 500 feet from the peak while everyone else's is so far down you can't even see them, fuck right off with that attitude. A match with HHH would be heavily promoted and positioned as a super important match on the card. HHH wouldn't have it any other way. It's not a fucking burial. But it's not what you wanted? Aww.
I learned when I was a kid that you don't always get what you want. The correct way to handle it is not to run away from home.
...actually, yeah to that part to. If it's SOLELY over not being in the main event, that's stupid. Seems counter to his understanding of the business though to pitch a fit over the semantics of "main event"
ReplyDeleteI hope Bryan wins at Elimination Chamber so Batista can squash him in 3 minutes at WM 30.....I'm glad Punk is gone because it leaves more time for the real super stars like Cena, Orton, Batista, Sheamus, and Big Show
ReplyDeleteHow weird, right, that when you're a standoffish dickhead who sits in the corner, actively avoids conversation with people and comes off as "cooler than the room," not everyone takes your side when shit goes sideways?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone actually confirmed that Batista has a title run in his deal? Because it seems like the kind of thing that wouldn't even have to be mentioned. He was guaranteed one the day he decided to come back.
ReplyDeleteHe does come off as a guy who sometimes takes his meds and sometimes forgets.
ReplyDeleteEveryone,we've got a troll here.
ReplyDeleteThe self righteous, sarcastic, dismissive attitude never works out in the long run.
ReplyDeletePeople will tolerate it for a while if you bring a particular talent, or work ethic to the table, but at the end of the day the guy who's second (or third, or fifth) best at the job, but who plays well with others, will still be there, and the talented dickhead will be gone.
Pretty much.
ReplyDeleteMorning, John.
ReplyDeleteAfternoon here,Adam.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure a lot of people used that term before he quit.
ReplyDeleteReally? Aren't you guys on the same time zone as us? It's a little after 10 here. How's life treating you?
ReplyDeleteHere is 13:12pm.Also,100 degrees farenheit,besides that everything is okay.
ReplyDeleteI'd send you some of the -30 Celsius that we've been having here if I could. It's actually not bad today though.
ReplyDeleteBring it,I love cold!
ReplyDelete31 here which is like shorts weather for this time of year. Last 2 days I've worked 22 hours on about 3 hours sleep. Today is my rest day, tomorrow is going to be absolute hell. Won't be complaining Friday though, I'll get the fat paycheck.
ReplyDeleteJust chilling here,playing Max Payne 2
ReplyDeleteI walked to the store in I t-shirt earlier, just because I could. Right at freezing here, and it feels like summer compared to that zero degree -20 wind chill horseshit.
ReplyDeleteI'm playing Forza 4. Lotus Esprit turbo FTW!
ReplyDeleteI need to get a xbox this year.
ReplyDeleteSo basically the WWE locker room and the BoD have the same reaction.........................Could this mean a secret alliance between the BoD and the WWE? TUNE INTO NITRO TO FIND OUT!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I did sort of the same yesterday. It's like a tropical vacation compared to where we've been all month.
ReplyDeleteWith them being so close to WrestleMania, I'd kind of rather Bryan not win at EC and get to win at WrestleMania and have his 'WrestleMania Moment'. I understand them wanting to maximize the WWE Network's launch, but Bryan defending the title at WrestleMania just seems so much lamer than him finally winning it at the biggest event of the year.
ReplyDeleteFANTASY BOOKING TIME:
I'd sorta steal the angle WCW did in January of 97 when Randy Savage came back after being off TV for a couple of months, stage a sit-in until somebody with 'stroke' came out to answer his demands. For those that don't remember, Savage basically held the opening part of the show hostage, the wrestlers who were supposed to work the opener came out and tried reasoning with him, but Savage just beat the shit out of them.
For Bryan, I'd have him get screwed by Trips at EC so that Orton kept the belt and kept the 'ideal' WrestleMania main event, Orton v. Batista, intact. Night after EC, build Bryan v. Wyatt in a Royal Rumble rematch as the main event for the 10pm hour. You have the announcers discuss throughout the night how Bryan was furious backstage at EC about getting screwed again and was yet to arrive. It's time for the match and Bryan just no-shows. Nobody knows where he is.
Then either the next week or the week after, Bryan shows up during the show's open and pretty much does what Savage did in 97. He demands to talk to Kane or Brad Maddox, someone with 'stroke' about the BS he's gone through. The wrestlers come out for their opening match and Bryan just destroys them. Bryan says he's not leaving until he gets a shot at WrestleMania. Trips comes out and tries to reason with Bryan about the 'best for business' crap and all that but its to no avail. Realizing that Bryan won't stop holding the show hostage, HHH begrudgingly gives in and makes the WrestleMania main event a triple threat match. Trips offers his hand, Bryan shakes it, and when HHH is about to leave, Bryan does the thing from the Rock/Hogan confrontation where Bryan takes down Trips, puts him in the YES lock until agents/referees run in to break it up. Bryan exits through the crowd leading YES chants.
From the moment where Bryan takes out HHH until WrestleMania, Trips tries to make Bryan's life a living hell, placing him in impossible matches and trying to weaken him going into WrestleMania.
And of course, Bryan wins the title match by making Orton tap clean in the middle of the ring and gets his WrestleMania Moment.
Original or 360?
ReplyDelete360,I just need MK9,Injustice and WWE 2K14.In here everyones goes pirate to buy a game.
ReplyDeleteShit, I got my bedroom window open right now, just to get some fresh air in here. This nasty dusty furnace air has been killing me.
ReplyDeleteWhat is their obsession with Cena vs Wyatt? You can accomplish the same thing you want with Bray by putting him into a match with say, Sheamus. Why waste your perceived #1 draw on this?
ReplyDeleteYou guys use the PAL format there, right?
ReplyDeleteI don't know,but all the Games work even better then OG.
ReplyDeleteThis guy fucking gets it. I've ranted enough on this but the issue to me isn't him retiring at some point, it's the way he went about doing it. Unprofessional and like a baby
ReplyDeleteOh it wasn't a knock on your work at all. I thought it might have slipped your mind and just wanted to point it out. I always look forward reading your reviews.
ReplyDeleteSo my apologies if it came over condescending :)
You nailed it.
ReplyDeletePutting Wyatt over him or having them due a post match beat down to become monster heels and set up a return match? Other than that (and putting on a really good match, I would think), I don't get it either.
ReplyDeleteI just think that's kind of funny. Here piracy is a crime, down there it's just how shit gets done. I actually have a couple Brazilian pirate NES games, which are worth a good amount of money up here for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteYea. Just build up a guy like Sheamus as a face and they could essentially accomplish the same thing. A win over Cena would be bigger in magnitude but it's not worth it to waste Cena on it. Seems like they're set on it.
ReplyDeleteIf they're wasting Cena on this, Bray HAS to go over...right?
It's a crime,but we go like fuck it,there is worse things like drugs and Religious freaks on political positions.
ReplyDeleteNo way. Cena spends the next 9 weeks getting beat down and gets to "overcome the odds" against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania. They aren't going to have Cena lose at Mania, not to Bray Wyatt.
ReplyDeleteThat's what's great. I feel like there's way too much Kevin Nash and you can only heard Cornette bash Russo so much
ReplyDeleteNo kidding. But with video games, at least back in the day, people in South America had to pirate stuff because that was the only way you could get it.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of selling off my retro video game stuff. I only bought it all on the cheap to re-sell it later on, and the retro video game market is crashing harder than Tony Stewart. In retrospect I should have sold all this shit off 3 years ago, if not sooner.
For conversational purposes: say you're wwe amd Vince I'm September/October. You're negotiating with Mr Dave Batista. You're coming off lackluster buyrates with Bryan on top (sure we can debate WHY those buyrates are poor but the bottom line was they were poor.) Batista agrees to come back but he wants to win the Royal Rumble ND main event WM. The Batista guy has proven to be effective for your company in the past. Don't you almost have to bring him in? Yea, it sucks thet booked them selves into a corner with the rumble amd probably WM main event, but at the time it was probably the right move.
ReplyDeleteHere a Xbox 360 is 1200 bucks,a ps4 is 4k
ReplyDeleteI think that the collectibles market on the whole has been way down since 2008.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your currency?
ReplyDeleteI really want to like this HHH character. It encompasses everything the fans hate about the product. Sometimes he shows a bit of self-awareness, but as said below, he can't make up his mind how he wants to play this thing. Either he really thinks Batista/Orton is best for business or he kayfabe believes it to draw heat. We can't tell and I'm not sure if he knows either.
ReplyDeleteThat's so dumb to me. If you're going to put Cena in this shit, just go all out with it and have Bray go over. I'm not saying it'll happen but to me that's the only reason you should do the match at all
ReplyDelete1500,depends on the movement of my parents bar.
ReplyDeleteShit man, here a used 360 is like $90. Cut me a check, I'll ship one down there.
ReplyDeleteYour parents own a bar?
ReplyDeleteOh, I agree. I think Wyatt going over at Mania, especially after the match at the Rumble, he'll be absolutely made. But I don't think WWE will do it.
ReplyDeleteHere is the reason we buys the pirate ones,A old 360 game is 150 R$
ReplyDeleteYep,but we don
ReplyDeleteI am of the belief that they have to bite the bullet and take a short-term loss in order to set themselves up for the future.
ReplyDeleteBringing back Batista and the rest of these guys is like constantly borrowing from your 401k.
No I meant the monetary unit..?
ReplyDeleteIt's the Real though, right?
They say "fuck him" now, but whenever he comes back the company will welcome him with open arms.
ReplyDeleteI've said it a bunch of times, but I think he finally figured out that he'll be treated better as a part-timer. He'll only come back if they have something for him, he'll get get huge reactions live because of the surprise factor, he doesn't have to take the punishment of a full-time schedule, and he can have a bigger say in who he works with.
I'm on Punk's side on this. If he's not happy, why should he stay? To honor his contract? The WWE can cut you at any time; that should work both ways. If he's unhappy, he's just taking a roster spot and WM payoff that could go to someone who wants it more.
Shit, I give him credit for not just sticking it out and half-assing it until WM for the payday, then quitting.
My father is electrician too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, first thing that gets cut in a bad economy. The retro video game market is crashing just because all the serious collectors have bought up everything they need. Shows that I would suck as a stockbroker, though I'm still going to make a pretty decent profit here. Would have been an amazing profit if I would have sold all this stuff a few years back, I got this shit shit for practically nothing. Buying a NEO-GEO CD with 12 games for $60 might have been the best financial decision I ever made. I'm looking at $450-500 back just for that, and my NES collection should bring in the same amount.
ReplyDeleteThey don't know what role Lesnar is gonna play? Am I the only one thinking dance-off with Fandango?
ReplyDeleteThis logic doesn't compute. So since he figured out hell be treated better as a part time star that makes it ok for him to quit? If he's banged up, take some time off then come back. You can still be a part time guy once your contract is over. If this is the reason he quit, it makes him look even more like a child imo
ReplyDeleteMy brother is a trained electrician, and for some reason he works at a bowling alley. He likes his job though, so whatever...
ReplyDeleteWhat is that in American money?
ReplyDeleteMy father a few years got a job in a platform for 3 months.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Bryan might get his WM moment in the sun, but I don't see the company ever getting behind him as the focal point. I've always interpreted Vince's opinion as the "poster look" opinion. Vince has to be able to look at a poster of a wrestler and understand their attraction immediately. Obviously with the big guys, the story is told; they're fucking huge. With Steve Austin, you immediately see that he's the ass-kicking everyman that guys want to be like. Shawn Michaels was the pretty boy; again, easy to spot. With The Rock, you had the 'superstar' look. Cena is fucking jacked and vaguely hip-hoppish. Again, you know what they are as soon as you see them.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Bryan, not so much. I wish he would get the superstar push, but I don't think it will ever happen. He may get a title run, but he'll never be "the guy."
Reais,150 for game only if your rich as hell or you really wanna play online.
ReplyDeleteAs in an oil rig thing? Man, that's rough work. Good money though.
ReplyDeleteThe WWE has the right to release wrestlers whenever they want. THAT is what makes it ok for him to quit. They can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteYep,they needed someone to fix some panels and my dad was called.
ReplyDeleteDear god I hope you are.
ReplyDeleteThey could have Cena win a tough match and then get beat down by the entire Wyatt family to do the job, but really if they are trying to do Wyatt-Cena I'd have to think Bray is going over. Wins against Bryan and Cena at the Rumble and Mania and a gimmick the crowd is eating up? Guy's set.
ReplyDeleteNo, I mean what's the exchange rate between your money and ours? Like, 15 years ago a U.S. dollar would be worth $1.50 in Canada, now they're equal, give or take 5 cents.
ReplyDelete^This.
ReplyDeleteI think he's kind of in the Foley role - The much beloved B+ player who gets a turn or two with the proverbial ball, but never gets to run with it.
ReplyDelete1 Dollar is here 1,50 R$ i guess
ReplyDeleteThis. Unhappy people quit their jobs all the time (well, if they're ready to face the consequences of having to find another job, at least). I really don't see why certain people are acting like he committed a cardinal sin.
ReplyDeleteDo you live in the city or outside?
ReplyDeleteIf I lived on the Gulf (ain't no oil rigs in NY), that's probably what I'd be doing.
ReplyDeleteWhen Punk signed his contract, he knew that was how wwe did business. He still had a commitment to fulfill (assuming he had dates.) Saying wwe can do it doesn't absolve punk from itespecially in this case. I find it hard to buy that argument on a case by case basis.
ReplyDeleteBy this logic, if Vince has released Punk last week we would hhave condemned him to hell. Be honest, you would not gave supported his right to release punk. So we're supporting punk doing the same thing in your eyes?
I guess that's why Foley got mad when Bryan didn't appear in the Rumble because he sees himself in Bryan.
ReplyDeleteI live in Suburb of Nilopolis a town in the RJ state.It's a urban city.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason I didn't care much for him at the time, but 1997/1998 Savage was pretty badass in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that, by and large, the terms of a contract can't actually be *forced* on people, right? There might be some penalty built in for breaking it, but generally speaking you can't be *forced* to work.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, there's two separate issues here. Is Punk a good co-worker? Doesn't sound like it. Has he burned some bridges? Maybe. But that's neither here nor there if you're trying to make a morality play out of deciding you don't want to be an active pro wrestler for awhile.
So a game costs $100 USD? Man, that's brutal. $60 here for a new game, and I feel that's too much. $60 is damn near a whole day's pay, and the bills (as in gas, rent, etc..., not the football team) gotta come first.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a sin. The WAY he did it, and at the time he did it were childish.
ReplyDeleteSee, I'm torn on the Punk thing. I kind of understand his going home, and I imagine his contract allows it, either he met his downside requirements or there's an injury time allowance. So, head home,Punk, heal up. You're not happy, you can walk, walk.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's WrestleMania season, he's got a match that will be considered a main event (and probably feature on the box art for the Blu-Ray) against the COO of the company and, really, they treated him pretty well over the course of his contract.
A old one,Launch game is probably 200
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't want Bryan to be a statistic.
ReplyDeleteThe Funkasaurus, Sweet T, and Big B, the Dancing Machine. Feuding with 3MB
ReplyDeleteIn my country, 24 hours after a WWE PPV, bootled DVDs of that PPV and the Raw and Smackdown before it are available for about half a United States Dollar.
ReplyDeleteInsane. I can go into Gamestop with about $50 USD and come home with 3 or 4 old games.
ReplyDeleteGreat, now I want to see Brock coming out and dancing to Somebody call my Mama.
ReplyDelete50 cents? Where do you live?
ReplyDeleteThis all because taxes that the government imposes,the Ps4 would cost at launch 1500 with the taxes,now is 4000.
ReplyDeleteObviously it can't be forced. Even if Punk is in breach I don't see wwe taking him to court for a multitude of reasons. That's a separate issue from what I'm talking about. I'm not judging whether he should want to be a pro wrestler or not. I'm judging him on the fact he broke a commitment to his employer (we can speculate on dates but his contract is through july). I'm judging him on the fact that by all accounts he quit with 1 days notice. I'm judging him on the fact that by all accounts he is a temperamental guy who is know to throw temper tantrums...did you watch the rumble? He most certainly phoned it in at times imo. I'm also judging him tgat he'd walk out on the company that has set him up financially for life with only 6 months left. He walked out in a lot of people who supported him and went to bat for him. Slap in the face.
ReplyDeleteFoley doesn't want Bryan to be like him: being a sacrificial lamb (or this case, a GOAT) for someone else. You can climb a huge mountain that is WWE, but somehow stuck at the bottom when they don't need you or find anything for you. That's sad, man.
ReplyDeleteBatista should just swing his dick at Bryan, it'd knock him out cold. And then pin him with it while fist pumping.
ReplyDeleteChances of hhh pitching this finish for certain matches of his...95%.
ReplyDeleteI think that the title should be vacant again. Have Bryan and Orton be the last 2 guys in the chamber, a double pin happens, and the title is vacated. Then Batista can come into the WM match course of the Rumble and Bryan and Orton can still compete because they were the last ones to nearly get the belt.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they could bring back Tank Abbott with his big green square (which I thought was hilarious, btw)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've heard about the obscene import taxes other countries have. I was reading on jalopnik.com that a Scion FR-S (or a Toyota GT-86, why the call it something different here is beyond me) is about $25k here, but can go for as much as $100k in other countries. A Fiat 500 costs like $20k here, buy one in Vietnam and it's more like $70k. A fucking 200% import tax? Fuck outta here...
ReplyDeleteI had similar idea that I've posted last nightHere's a crappy idea a had for the finish at EC,Only Cena and Bryan are left at the chamber then,LIGHTS OUT Brock appears and destroys both and the match is ruled a No contest.Moving foward to Raw,Brock wants a match for the tittle,Hollywood Batista comes out saying they should give the title to him since he's the best and won the RR.With all the shenanigans at Wrestlemania The authority decides to to do a mini-tournament With Batista,Brock,Bryan and Cena
ReplyDeleteAt wrestlemania
match 1:Bryan vs Batista,Bryan wins via tapout
match 2:Cena vs Brock,Lesnar pins Cena and wins the rematch
Main event:Bryan vs Brock,Bryan wins by pinfall after a 30 minute match
Remember this a fantasy booking,I'm not being objective(like heenan in the rumble of 92),the goal is to Bryan have a Huge Mania moment.
Well,I heard Ibiza is a awesome place to live,I'm going there when have the chance.
ReplyDeleteI think Konnan said it best when he stated that Triple H just can't help but to bury the talent. he's way too tapped into the cool heel Kliq thing. I'm convinced an alien abducted him and replaced him with a clone during the year 2000.
ReplyDeleteBut that all seems to have been the case long before he decided to go home.
ReplyDeleteI'm 50/50 about this punk issue.
ReplyDeleteI like it, especially since with Brock/Cena you were able to use 50/50 booking.
ReplyDeleteThey can survive 50/50 booking and Lesnar needs to wash away that loss.
ReplyDeleteTake some time off. I'm not doubting he's hurt. Or, agree to work extremely limited dates until WM to help the company that's set you up financially for life...not just for "loyalty, but bc it's also in your contract. Quitting on 1 days notice just wreaks of it being a temper tantrum.
ReplyDeleteWe need a 3 Count reunion.
ReplyDeleteI heard it's an awesome place to get laid (and high, I'm told weed laws are basically ignored there), but you don't want to live in a tourist trap. No jobs, unless you want to bartend for a bunch of stoned European wankers.
ReplyDeleteA WWE fan is reclined in the chair at his dental hygienist's office. The dentist enters the room.
ReplyDeleteDentist: "Well, hello Mr....
WWE Fan: Boooooooo! Daniel Bryan (clap clap, clap clap clap) Daniel Bryan (clap clap, clap clap clap)
Analogously, in 1996 you're looking at your buyrates for the September & October ppvs and they are shit. Steve Austin is striking a chord with some fans. You can bring Randy Savage back, but he wants to win the Royal Rumble and the WWF Title at WrestleMania. Is that the right call?
ReplyDeleteFoley had a GREAT spot for a few years. He made more money and headlined ppv feuds with Rock, Austin, HHH. Yea, he was a sacrificial lamb to Rock and Austin at times to build them up, but not even Foley would say he was more qualified to be the face of the company then rock nor austin.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm just ambivalent because I've sort of seen this coming for a while. All the talk about him being hurt, burnt out, phoning in a lot of his television matches since HIAC, etc. The stated reason is pretty bizarre, though (a match with Triple H is pretty much the highest profile program his character could work right now outside of a rematch with Brock, and would get premier match treatment), so part of me honestly think this is part work, Like everyone sat down after the Rumble debacle, rejiggered their plans, and without anything obvious for Punk to do in Wrestlemania season (b/c no one wants to see Punk-HHH in lieu of Bryan-HHH) they told him to take his time off and came up with this story about him "walking out" to generate buzz and make everyone go bananas for his comeback.
ReplyDeleteWell,at least a vacation.
ReplyDeleteYea. I think there's a chance it's a work also. The timing is just to perfect. Upcoming authority angle, contract runs out in july, last ppv venue if his contract being recently booked to be in chicago...
ReplyDeleteObviously not, but we're viewing that, and this Batista thing to a point, with hindsight. Makes it easier. I
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, there's a huge difference between a casual marijuana smoker (I suppose I'm digging my own grave here by making it part of my gimmick, but stay with me here...) and a junkie. I've never touched cocaine or heroin or any kind of hard drug.
ReplyDeleteI don't see him have very many defenders in WWE if he legitimately walked out on them at the beginning of Wrestlemania season either. Post-Summerslam, maybe, not the day after the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Ibiza is the very definition of "I love it, but I wouldn't want to live there". Same for pretty much anywhere in the Caribbean.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, being a sacrificial lamb to someone is fine as long as it get paid at the end. In Bryan's case, we still don't know the end result for his sacrifice. We just can hope for the best. For him, and for us.
ReplyDeleteWWE threw all kind of crap for him to do in the last three years and he turn them all into gold. He even bring out the best in Wyatt in the last match that worth MOTY that almost no one can do. I sincerely hope that Cena put Wyatt over at Mania so we can have a new top heel who can wrestle over three stars other than Orton and HHH.
Well this report says it's split so who knows. I'm sure he voiced complaints before but there's a huge difference of voicing complaints, giving formal warning of leaving, and actually quitting. If he had given them formal notice, I still wouldnt be completely on board but I'd be alot more ok with the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteJust like the coast cities in RJ.
ReplyDeleteWhat in Rj?when?
ReplyDeleteFourth most, by my estimate. He probably would have curtain jerked, actually.
ReplyDeleteI don't disagree but that still doesn't make they way he did it right or professional. Lots of adults have to do things they don't want to do.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, Batista was the second most popular wrestler to emerge from the post-Attitude-era and was a main eventer from WM21 right up through his departure. Never once dropped below that level.
ReplyDeleteYou can say that they should have anticipated the backlash he got from the rabidly pro-Daniel-Bryan crowds, but I don't fault them for not expecting it to be THIS bad and once you've signed certain deals, even putting aside the possibly-bullshit "his contract guarantees him a WM main event and title run" stuff, you're pretty committed.
You don't bring that guy back at that price to make him a midcarder. It's business basics.
This guy fucking gets it
ReplyDeleteI thought you were talking about Rio. And come to think of it, Sao Paulo was the city I was thinking of, and they only have 11 million people, which is about 10,500,000 more than I'm willing to deal with. Like, I've always wanted to go to Tokyo, but I don't think I could handle a place that's so crowded that they literally stack people on top of each other.
ReplyDeleteBasic business would also dictate that you don't place a guy on the card based no how much you're paying them....you pay a guy based on where he's placed on the card.
ReplyDeleteIf you asked most people 6 months ago, when I'm assuming they were negotiating, if they'd welcome back Batista, I'd absolutely say 80% would be on board. It sucks that it coincides with the Bryan thing, and that he's essentially taking a role that Bryan could have, but you can't really Fault Vince for bringing him in. It's not like it was a part time 6 month run. He's here for 2 years and working full time
ReplyDeleteAgreed. There's no point in going through with this just to have Bray lose. Bray beating Sheamus does way more for his career than losing to Cena does.
ReplyDeleteIdeally, but this is one of those A is B, but B is not necessarily A situations.
ReplyDeleteWrestling is a business that's not really like any other. It's still bound by some of the basics of business, but in other regards, not so much.
I'm a little baffled by this myself. It's a huge vote of confidence in Wyatt, but man, unless he wins, this is going to KILL his momentum.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else here get the feeling that Roman vs HHH at Mania is a good possibility?
ReplyDeleteFarva, you're aware that WWE wrestlers are independent contractors, NOT employees, right? I don't know for sure if this is true of Punk's deal, but the overwhelming majority of independent contractor contracts are classified as "At Will Employment"; almost all of them have a provision stating that either party can terminate the contract at any time. I suspect WWE's contracts are like this since they frequently "Future Endeavor" people and I've never heard anything about a severance package or any of the other stuff that would suggest the contracts are anything BUT At Will.
ReplyDeleteSo, while you can complain that Punk is bailing when they need him (but he's not; they have too many Main Event guys already right now with Brock/Batista/Taker/HHH around for Mania season), he almost certainly isn't in breach of his contract; his contract probably (as an independent contractor) stipulates that he can quit whenever he wants. That's the trade-off the WWE makes; it allows them to give their workers few/no benefits and it absolves them from a lot of responsibility… but it means workers, particularly injured ones who aren't being given time off to heal- are free to walk away whenever they want with or without notice.
You *can* call it unprofessional if you want, but the reason those contracts work that way is to protect independent contractors from exactly this sort of a situation; being exploited by your employe. Almost every indecent contractor in a creative industry (myself included) has terminated a contract early because they were unhappy with the job; that's the upside of being an independent contractor; *I* choose who I work for, and I have the freedom to terminate that relationship when it isn't giving me what I need. It's not unprofessional at all for an independent contractor to look out for his own best interests first; in point of fact, it's pretty much the entire point of being and independent contractor. That WWE chooses to mostly only employ wrestlers under those terms is their fault, not Punk's.
Just thought I'd throw that out there, considering how much of your ranting revolves around the idea that he was contracted through July. All that *really* means (besides the fact that I assume he has a no-compete) is that *if* he works for them through July, it's at the rate agreed to in the contract and both sides have to honor that.
I've seen people say this, why do you think it's a possibility? Admittedly, I dvrd raw so only watched certain segments amd didn't watch smackdown yesterday so I could have missed some story developments
ReplyDeleteWWE needs to pull their heads out of their asses. This booking week to week thing is dumb.
ReplyDeleteJust watched Smackdown, and there's a small Roman-HHH stare down moment from the opening promo that seemed like they were planting a seed.
ReplyDeleteAnd with Punk gone, if they end up putting Bryan in the title match who else would HHH face? You know, cause god forbid he didn't have a match.
It's funny that the one match that seems to be set in stone (bray vs Cena) is a match that has almost zero backstory to it.
ReplyDeleteThe glass ceiling doesn't exist anymore. It's been replaced by the bottom of Triple H's shoe.
ReplyDeleteYou can't have Mania without the Egomaniac! Egomania is running wild!
ReplyDeleteYeah we don't know why he targeted Cena yet. Could you see Mania closing with Bryan vs. HHH and Bryan winning sending off the PPV with 70,000 YES! chants? Or Batista vs. Orton with the crowd taking a dump on it? Triple H is smirking backstage because there's a possibility of him closing out a Mania.
ReplyDeleteSorry man but when I read your "WWE needs to pull their heads out of their asses" I imagine a hydra with all of its heads stuck in its own ass. Same with WWE, they have lots of people with brains but all of them are full of shit.
ReplyDeleteI mean, Batista is in that mania title may h so if Bryan's in the title match at mania, he's defending against Batista. I definitely don't see them messing with the Rumble stip
ReplyDeleteI absolutely get that. Admittedly, I've never been employed in this fashion but my neighbor/friend is an independent contractor and I get how it works. VI center has been structuring contracts like this forever. How many times has a talent ever quit with 6 months on his contract without a buyout? None that I can remember.
ReplyDeleteEven if he legally could have quit with 0 repercussions...doesn't he owe it to Vince to say, ok I'll at least stuck around for Raw so you can write me out of the stroylines? I have less issue with him leaving then the way he did.
When Vince cuts talent, it's because they're not getting over around after numerous attempts to get them over, a personal incident, or for another tangible reason. By all accounts they see it coming. This is punk, again by all accounts, giving them 1 days notice and leaving. I don't care what your contact says, you owe it to the people who have set up financially for life to give them more notice. Put had a great stretch in the wwe. ALOT of people helped him and supported him to allow this to happen. Him walking out with 1 days notice is a slap in the face to them, regardless of what his contract sats
My hope would be hhh vs bryan. Bryan tapping out hhh would be almost as satisfying as him winning the title to me
ReplyDeleteNope, Triple H hasn't changed a bit, he just needed to wait until Austin and Rock left so he could go back to being Shawn 2.0.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the idea of Bryan defending at Mania. He needs to win it there. I'd like to see him screwed somehow in the Chamber then Vince put him in the Mania title match making it Orton (c) (wins Chamber) vs. Batista vs. Bryan.
ReplyDeleteAt this pint my hope is honestly HHH isn't on the card. His matches and promos have gotten so bad, and I just do t see him putting Bryan over.
ReplyDeletePlus, Bryan-HHH means Batista vs Orton for the title, which could end up being the weakest mania title feud match ever.
I don't necessarily disagree, but since the specifics and particulars of HOW that conversation went and why he left are only rumor at this point, I hesitate to take a position on it. If the story of "I'm not gonna tell the fans that bullshit!" are true, then it might have been that he was initially willing to do a promo/participate in something to write him off, but what he was asked to say/do was beyond what he was willing to do. At that point, he's not really in the wrong, as again, the whole point of being an independent contractor is not being forced to do stuff you don't want to do.
ReplyDeleteBy all accounts, he had a conversation with Vince that led to him leaving, he didn't just say "fuck it, I'm out" and walk out the door, so I'd be inclined to suspect he did exactly what you're suggesting he should have, only they couldn't come to terms on whatever the issue was.
All of this, naturally, assumes it's a shoot, which is it probably isn't.
Best case scenario is they somehow hot shot the title onto Batista before Mania and have him defend against Bryan. Have Trips be sick of Orton's whining and make him fight Batista on a Raw, then have the Chamber be for the #1 contendership. I can't imaging Batista cares about actually *winning* the belt at Mania so long as he's at the top of the card.
ReplyDeleteEh, I disagree with that sentiment that Bryan needs to win it at mania. At this point we've seen him win it twice. It's a bigger moment in his story to actually see him KEEP it.
ReplyDeleteGet the big win the title pop at EC, then he defends it against Evolution at Mania. Would be a huge close the show moment that would cement him for good.
Plus, he's either winning it at EC or he's not in the title match. That's the corner they've booked themselves into at this point. Any scenario where Bryan goes into mania as the challenger would require them blowing up the Rumble stip. it's too much.
Even 90s Shawn sold the other guy's offense/promos, even if he insisted on going over in the end. Trips is even worse.
ReplyDeleteJust an interesting idea someone posted over at 411:
ReplyDelete"Why don't they do Bryan vs. Triple H, if Bryan wins he gets added to the
main event and it becomes a triple threat. It would make a Bryan title
win all the more cathartic since he had to wrestle twice in one night to
win the ultimate prize."
Thoughts? It solves almost all of their problems outside of the obvious ego issues for all the guys not named Daniel Bryan.
Had they not announced him/brought him back on the Raw before, and just let him show up as a surprise in the Rumble, fans would have cheered their hearts out and no shit on the match nearly as much. Ultimately, we want to be surprised, because it helps us suspend disbelief; the inevitability of him winning was much worse than him actually winning.
ReplyDeleteOffense? When does HHH not sell the other guy's offense?
ReplyDeleteAlso, HHH has actually made a wrestler (Batista). Shawn jobbed sometimes, but he never made anyone in his entire career.
I think the big decision is whether or not Bryan wins the title at EC. No way he goes into Mania as the challenger.
ReplyDeleteI'm fine with 2 Bryan matches, but they won't do it because there's no chance Trips is going on any earlier than third from the top.
ReplyDeleteActually, Warrior would be more appropriate here.
ReplyDeleteYes, but since the assumption is that Batista/Orton is the main event, it doesn't matter how high on the card Bryan/Aitch is.
ReplyDeleteThat would also make for one hell of an opening match. They could even sell it to Hunter as his opportunity to out-do Bret/Owen. You know he'd love to have another opportunity to say he's better than Bret.
ReplyDeleteWhy? EC is in Seattle that makes you stop and think for a second, but if he's winning the title either at EC or WM, wouldn't you rather it at mania??
ReplyDeleteTrips no-sells everybody's offense (if he lets them have it in the first place) most of the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd even 90s Shawn had a pretty big hand in making Diesel, Razor, and Austin, whether or not he liked doing it. Post-90s Shawn didn't *make* Cena, but that Mania 23 match went a long way towards cementing Cena as "the guy", I'd argue. Shawn also tried pretty hard to *make* Legacy and Miz/Morrison, whether or not it worked.
My point was Bryan wouldn't have any time to rest between matches, but maybe his conditioning is good enough that he doesn't need to.
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on what kind of pop you want. Benoit got a huge pop when he waled into Backlash as champ in Edmonton, but I think you get a bigger pop out of all that tension being released and replaced by euphoria when your guy reaches the top of the mountain in front of you, rather than returning to the village for a hero's welcome afterwards.
ReplyDeleteThey could have the matches be back-to-back to really reinforce how much they're trying to screw Bryan over.
ReplyDeleteHad he been in the Rumble and lasted over an hour, that would be have been some bitching foreshadowing.
ReplyDeleteWarrior was back in early 96, not late 96.
ReplyDeleteAnd according to rumor, Savage's contract expired sometime after Havoc 96 and there was strong chance Vince was going to bring him back.
"Trips no-sells everybody's offense (if he lets them have it in the first place) most of the time."
ReplyDeleteSince when? As long as I've been watching WWF/E, HHH has always sold every bit of offense his opponent gets. And speaking of that, he's never been one to wrestle squashes or anything near to that. His matches are pretty much always competitive.
And if anything, the WM 22 match against Trips was the one that cemented Cena as the top guy. I remember going into that WrestleMania, there was a LOT of doubt about who was winning, since many assumed (incorrectly it turns out) that Cena's negative crowd reactions meant that he was failing as the top guy and that Vince was going back to his son-in-law to lead the company.
By the time 'Mania 23 rolled around, Cena had been on top for another year, and as I recall, no one (online anyway) really bought that Shawn had a chance of winning. Funnily enough, he did end up getting his win back during the hour-long London match, which isn't really a big deal, but if it was Trips in his place, people would never stop harping on about it.
Lastly, while I was a bit on-and-off with the product in 2009, weren't Shawn's feuds with Legacy/Miz and Morrison as part of DX?
Yea, I'm not debating what pop would be bigger bc honestly, I'm not sure. They'd be insane both places. To me, if you give him the title as the show closes at WM, that is almost an "apology" from the wwe to the fans. Finally "getting it" and giving the fans what they want in the biggest moment of the year. Plus I think it does more for bryan as he can always talk about winning the title at WM.
ReplyDeleteI just think people are over dramatizing the "has to win it at mania" scenario. So long as Bryan holds up the title after a victory at mania, whether he wins it there or defends it, it's a star making moment. And like I mentioned, based on the history of Bryan getting screwed out of the title, the defense is actually a bigger moment for his story than the first win is.
ReplyDeletePlus I think the thing possibly in Bryan's favor is they need EC to be a feel good show leading into the network. Do you really think screwing Bryan again in the chamber is a good move? I seriously don't think you could sell mania on the hook of Bryan being the challenger AGAIN. He needs to go in as champ to be believable.
Would have been different if he won the Rumble, but he didn't and you can't really do a #1 contenders match on raw that makes up for that.
Listen at this point if he wins the title at EC and people come here the next day and COMPLAIN about Bryan winning the title at the wrong time, well that'd sound pretty ridiculous to me is all. The main thing is he needs to close Mania as champ. That makes him a star, whether he goes in as champ or not, ya know? And based on where we are now, him defending is the much cleaner path.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point on Bryan maybe winning the belt at WM30, but them never having serious confidence in him after that, almost like Benoit in 04.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, did Benoit ever get another shot at either the WWE title or World Title after he fell off the main event map once Orton took the strap? I'm drawing a blank here...
They could have Batista win the title from Orton and it wouldn't mess with the Rumble stip, just invalidate it. Then EC could be for a title shot.
ReplyDeleteBryain winning the belt at EC would help the buyrate and/or network subscriptions. Anyone on the fence about getting the Network might sign up to see Bryan's win when they hear about it the next night.
ReplyDeleteI am not offended at all, there are a lot of sloppy errors in this write-up and I should make a better job to fix those errors.
ReplyDeleteExtreme Rules in April is in Seattle; The Chamber ppv is in Minnestoa.
ReplyDeletestill can be a fun ride (for the dickhead) while it last. see: Michaels, Shawn.
ReplyDeleteI saw the second half of Smackdown, felt like Raw warmed over (and I only watched the 90 minute version of that). The main event was the Sheild winning a six-man over Sheamus/D-Bry/Rey Mysterio when Mysterio ate a wicked spear from Roman.
ReplyDeleteUndertaker/Sid would like a word.
ReplyDeleteThat works too.
ReplyDeleteGood catch
ReplyDeleteHe did not.
ReplyDeleteSame for me. In 1997, he wasn't really doing much outside of feuding with DDP twice (both of which were actually great), but the psycho/loose cannon character he wound up becoming was all sorts of fun.
ReplyDeleteIt was more of a lifetime achievement thing for Benoit. The plan was always for him to drop to Orton at SummerSlam.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is any internet darling over the past 20 years that is getting the kind of reactions Daniel Bryan is getting. Crowds weren't hijacking major ppvs because Chris Benoit or Mick Foley weren't in them.
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ, every thread is a thousand Farva posts. He makes jobber looked restrained.
ReplyDeleteSome people are floating out a thought that Bryan beats HHH at Mania to get a title shot at Extreme Rules so he can win the belt in front of his home crowd.
ReplyDelete"Go work 60 minutes so we can have Kane throw you out to jumpstart your match with him on a throwaway ppv."
ReplyDeleteI'd dog it, too.
"And remember, King, that this championship main event goes back TEN YEARS, to when Orton and Batista were in Evolution."
ReplyDeleteJust pair up Cena and Undertaker to make a billion dollars already.
ReplyDeleteFoley had people in his way. Bryan now really only has one (well, as the full-time guys go), and that guy's already put him over.
ReplyDeleteOh, the guy who's name is abeyance thinks the title should be vacant. BIG SURPRISE.
ReplyDeleteHe did take time off.
ReplyDeleteSay, "CM Punk was justifed in leaving" and you'll get 1,000 more!
ReplyDelete