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The SmarK RAW Rant–02.24.14

The SmarK RAW Rant – 02.24.14

Live from Green Bay, WI

Your hosts are Michael Cole, JBL & Jerry Lawler

Hulk Hogan returns to start, much like 2002 when he got his gigantic reaction and then fizzled out quickly. So he takes three tries to get “WWE Network” out properly, and it’s the TURNING POINT of his career, which is apparently that he’s hosting Wrestlemania XXX. So yeah, this was a thing that happened.

Batista v. Alberto Del Rio

The crowd immediately starts with “Boo-tista” chants, which is awesome. So Big Dave attacks to start, but gets caught with a cheapshot from ADR before clotheslining him to the floor. Del Rio trips him up on the apron and sends him into the stairs as we get a weird commentary track as they hang a lampshade on the whole Bryan-Batista controversy a month after everyone else in the country already figured it out. Like, is this their plan to make it seem it was their idea all along? We take a break and return with Del Rio in control and Batista sucking wind. For a guy with an MMA gym logo on his ass he’s not particularly well conditioned. They slug it out and Batista gets a half-assed powerslam for two. Del Rio goes for the arm again, but misses a blind charge and Batista makes the comeback. And then we get the best finish of all finishes, the IDIOT BABYFACE DISTRACTION finish, as Orton’s music hits and Del Rio rolls him up for the pin at 10:38. *1/2 Which then gives us an ELECTRIC showdown between Orton and Batista, as Orton is all “Man, these people are booing the shit out of you!” and Batista is all “Woo, WWE Universe, freedom of expression, DEAL WITH IT!” Thank god Wrestlemania is free this year is all I can say, because then I enjoy the psychological experiment of 70,000 people shitting all over the “main event” without feeling ripped off because I dropped $70 to watch it.

Sheamus v. Christian

I’m saddened because I really wanted Christ-Mus to be a thing. Sheamus pounds away in the corner and gets a short clothesline for two, and puts him on the floor with a clothesline. The twitter scroll makes me sad that there are actually real people who sit there tweeting encouragement to John Cena in his battle with Bray Wyatt. Christian comes back with a knee to the gut in an awkward sequence while the announcers go off on some inane course. And we take a break. Back with Sheamus in control and hooking the Cloverleaf, but Christian makes the ropes. Sheamus reverses the Killswitch into White Noise, but Christian rolls him up for two. Sheamus with a powerslam for two. Christian dodges the Brogue Kick, but comes off the top and lands on another Brogue Kick at 14:37. This was fine. **1/2

John Cena joins us to pimp the Network and declare his admiration of Bray Wyatt’s bold move in screwing him over. The Wyatts come out, and when Bray smiles on the way out you can totally see how he’s Bo Dallas’s brother. Anyway, Bray introduces himself as the eater of worlds and reaper of death, and Cena is all “Them’s fighting words!” and it’s on. The beatdown quickly follows and Cena “injures” his knee, making him easy pickings. This feud is just so weird, basically shoehorning it into Wrestlemania when everyone actually wants to see more Shield-Wyatts instead.

Kane v. Daniel Bryan

Kane goes for the arm right away, but Bryan throws kicks in the corner as it’s getting increasingly unlikely that Kane is actually a sleeper agent or anything else that would make the storyline make sense. Bryan clips the knee and goes to a half-crab as the announcers have suddenly decided that everyone wants to see Bryan v. HHH at Wrestlemania. I don’t feel like I was surveyed on that one. Kane goes back to working on the arm, and sends him into the stairs as we take a break. Back with Bryan throwing kicks for two, and he goes up with a missile dropkick and head kick for two. He walks into a chokeslam, however, and Kane gets two. Another try, but Bryan wraps him up in the Yes-Lock, and Kane powers out. Bryan ducks away, hits the flying knee, and gets the pin at 17:10. *** So Bryan calls out HHH, and lets us know that we want Daniel Bryan v. HHH. You know, I was just thinking that HHH really deserves a Wrestlemania payday in addition to his payday as part owner of the company. It’s what’s best for business.

Summer Rae v. Emma

Odd choice for inclusion. Summer is DISGUSTED with Emma’s dancing and takes her down, but Emma gets a sunset flip for two. Summer with a spinkick for two, and she chokes away on the ropes. Emma quickly takes her down and finishes with the Emma-Lock at 3:30. Dull stuff. * Putting her with Santino makes her look like such a loser, though.

Roman Reigns v. Bray Wyatt

Slugfest to start and Bray bails, as the crowd seems to be burned out tonight. Bray pounds him in the corner and follows with a short clothesline for two, and we hit the chinlock. We take a break and return with Bray slugging away in the corner while the fans chant for other guys. Roman comes back with a corner clothesline to wake up the crowd, and follows with the apron dropkick and backdrop suplex for two. Superman Punch time, but the Wyatts appear at ringside, as does Seth Rollins to take them out. A brawl follows and Dean Ambrose makes the save, then runs in for the DQ at 12:43. I wouldn’t be putting Reigns in long matches like this yet. **

Brock Lesnar joins us for the main event interview, and he’s got an open contract for Wrestlemania, and wants a title shot there. But HHH and Stephanie won’t let him have it. So to recap, the Authority is holding Daniel Bryan back from winning the title, and holding Brock Lesnar back from winning the title. They literally do not want ANYONE holding that damn title, apparently. So Brock will be skipping the show this year, rather than taking a “consolation prize”. However, Undertaker answers the open contract challenge, and he’s got the Ministry of Darkness goatee again. Maybe he’ll brainwash JBL again too. So he signs the open contract (by stabbing Brock through the hand) and then chokeslams him through the table for good measure. So that’s a yes to the match, I’m thinking.

The Pulse

I found this to be kind of a dull show when we were basically promised a big mind-blowing Wrestlemania lead-in. Hogan in particular was used in just about the laziest way possible. It might also be because they’re building up to a show I don’t want to see featuring a bunch of matches with guys I’m not interested in. But hey, that’s why the Network is there now, right?

Comments

  1. Wow, you didn't get the Big E-Cesaro match? That was the best one of the night.

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  2. I was completely underwhelmed by raw last night. All the hype going in had me expecting a great raw and everything came off totally flat.

    Also, was it just me or did the Green Bay crowd not pop for anything? Hogan and db got good reactions, but even undertaker's reaction was kinda blah. Shame they didn't include Cesaro/Langston on the hulu version.

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  3. I am similarly unimpressed. There is so much potential staring them in the face right now and this is what we get for the RAW that not only begins the final stretch of the Wrestlemania 30 (THIRTY!) build, but also the launch of one of the most ambitious business moves the company has ever made?

    I guess this wasn't in the Hulu RAW, but Bryan confronted HHH/Steph backstage sometime before the Kane match. I thought it was going to be him demanding a spot in the Wrestlemania title match. Then, when it seemed like he was challenging HHH, I thought he wanted to challenge him before Wrestlemania to win a shot to be in the Wrestlemania title match. Then as soon as he said he wanted HHH AT Wrestlemania, I froze, shook my head, and sighed.

    When Bryan repeated that later in the ring, it seemed like the entire crowd did the same thing. What a crock of shit. Oh, sorry, I mean "slow burn." What a crock of shit of a slow burn.



    I am usually the eternal optimist when it comes to WWE, but they finally got me. I'm not saying I'm going to stop watching altogether because I love pro wrestling and I still enjoy a good 25% of the show, but I'm certainly going to continue doing it all for free rather than signing up for the Network as a statement of goodwill.

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  4. 1) The opening segment with Hogan and the announcers overselling the moment was fantastic. It's like they were expecting Hogan in Montreal circa 2002.


    2) Could not agree more with Scott on the Shield/Wyatt thing. Just run the damn match again at WrestleMania - that's what the people want. The Reigns/Wyatt heat confirmed that...the crowd is into both acts as a trio, run with it. Breaking up the Shield is a bad idea.


    3) Where has the "history" hype been? The buildup to WrestleMania X was basically the first time in modern WWF history they acknowledge things that happened in the past. The buildup to WrestleMania XX was a full year and credited with restoring WrestleMania to its place after the shitty XIX buyrate.


    Why have they done none of that? It's WRESTLEMANIA 30!! And they have a whole Network now, so they could pimp the shit out of old WrestleManias and then tell people to go watch them.


    Instead, they're doing the exact same build -- "oh shit, month to go, here are some matches" -- that they would do for any PPV. It's really, really weird.

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  5. Mick Foley has taken to trying to champion Daniel Bryan. I can't tell if he is the voice of reason or just pathetic.

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  6. D-Bry HAS to face HHH, it's the logical culmination of their main storyline (which has been going for 6 months). I'd prefer HHH was champion (loses faith in Orton, puts himself in Chamber match), but if XXX closes with DB beating HHH clean I'll be more than satisfied.

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  7. Agreed. Of course, that means that HHH does have to job cleanly...

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  8. Yeah, that GB crowd kinda sucked. The smart-ass chants for "CM Punk" and "Husky Harris" didn't help, either.

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  9. Not sure where they are going with this, but the current card looks like dogcrap. 3 part-timers in the main event further kills the production in the long run. CM Punk dropping everything and heading back to Chicago looks more intelligent by the day.

    Also, if anyone thinks that the build up and match with HHH will make Bryan a bigger star, I have beachfront property in Idaho to see you.

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  10. I wish the crowd would turn on Taker like they have Dave. The guy wrestles once a year for the big pay day. Let Brock kill him and send him on his way. You cant even suspend disbelief a little with this match, theres no way Brock goes over everybody knows it so whats the fucking point.

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  11. "if XXX closes with DB beating HHH clean I'll be more than satisfied."


    All the LOLs

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  12. What I don't get is why Green Bay gets around 2 raw takings a year when their crowd always sucks ass, yet hotbeds like Minnesota haven't had a raw in 2 years. The crowd at Elimination Chanber was off the hook for Shield/Wyatt's. You could hear a fart last night during Reigns/Bray.

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  13. Batista looks like an old guy at the beach.

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  14. Except, unlike Dave, 'Taker has EARNED that right. He's worked for the company for almost 25 years straight and is not only their biggest, consistent draw over that 25 year period, but has done more for the company than Batista could ever have hoped for.


    Plus, he's so broken down from that 25-year commitment that he can only reasonably work one amazing, heart-stopping match a year. Given that he's consistently put on a clinic of a match for several years now at every Wrestlemania, I'm fine with that.

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  15. That's why they should've done Cena/Undertaker, because people would think Cena had a chance.


    I agree with you, I'm not really that into it. Imagine Brock vs. Bryan? Now that's a match I want to see.

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  16. I think the thing that gets me is that kayfabe, Bryan doesn't seem to be interested in winning titles at all. He doesn't try to get in the Rumble so he can fight Bray Wyatt. Then instead of trying to get in the title picture he concocts an elaborate scheme to beat up Bray Wyatt over the course of several weeks.
    Now, after being screwed again in the Elimination Chamber, he doesn't want the title as badly as he wants...the COO who hasn't wrestled in close to a year?


    From a storyline perspective, why do I want to get invested in Bryan? He looks like a moron!

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  17. Yeah at least that match hasnt been done.

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  18. I just wish he would come and do the odd job at a PPV like Summerslam instead of sitting around all year pretending he might be to injured to go at WM.

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  19. Did the Authority bring Undertaker back? Or did he just happened to be hanging out at Raw, in his Lord of Darkness gear, when he overheard Brock in the ring and decided to confront him?

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  20. It really was. The crowd was gonzo for Cesaro, and he looked like a superhero throwing Langston around.

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  21. He was in the midst of a killer D&D campign backstage.

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  22. Why would he keep going after the title if he knows he'll just be screwed out of it?

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  23. Now that we essentially have all our main matches set, I'd give this Mania a 6/10 on my personal anticipation scale.


    Brock/Taker does nothing for me. (although DAMN that closing segment was cool)


    I resent Cena/Wyatt cause I still want Sheild/Wyatts.


    Sheamus/Chri... nevermind.


    I'm jacked for HHH/DB (building for 6 months, could legit see either guy go over and I'm 110% in 1 guy's corner).


    Equally jacked for Batista/Orton just for the crowd reaction. Brock/Goldberg redux. I can't hate on this match, it'll be buried in the midcard and will be fascinating to watch.


    So yeah, having 2 matches to really look forward to is enough to get this past average, but it does feel underwhelming for WRESTLEMANIA XXX.

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  24. Agreed with you there. Undertaker looks like one of those garden gnomes from the travelocity commercials now.

    Seriously though, it just further cements the biggest problem with the current product. Due to
    the lack of coherent stories and building of talent, there is no mid-card anymore and from that, no true new guys who can main event. When Wrestlemania rolls around, they have to pull in 3 part timer workers and push others out of the picture. It is difficult to get invested in anyone for the entire year when guys like Batista and Undertaker
    come in and main event Wrestlemania. I believe it really kills the product in the long-term. However, the WWE is only to blame with due to the lack of coherent stories and building of talent.

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  25. Totally agree on the suspension of disbelief part. Brock is a legitimate badass who has beaten up actual fighters in their primes. Why would we believe that a guy Taker's age would stand a chance? Because he has ominous music and dresses like a scary guy?

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  26. Should be interesting to see how they mess up Cesaro.

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  27. I don't understand why they did Bryan-Kane with no advance notice. Same goes for Wyatt-Reigns.

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  28. Then why be in the elimination chamber? It's the inconsistency that bugs me too. He is so focused on Bray that he doesn't care about titles - except that's all he cared about for the 6 months prior. Then he beats up Bray in the cage and then he's back to pursuing the title again. Now he's off chasing after a guy that doesn't wrestle regularly.


    Real life wise, I think it's insane that they don't want to push him to the title. Storyline wise, Bryan looks like a dude with absolutely zero sense of priority in his sport.

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  29. His matches have been boring since the second HBK match. Also who gives a fuck what hes done for the company i have no interest in the past. If he was so great why not use the WWE network and watch stuff from when he worked full time. This is like sports teams paying a guy way more than hes worth because of what he did in the past. That shit ruins teams.

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  30. He's the biggest most consistent draw at Wrestlemania. Not in the company. And that is because of the way he has been booked. Without the Streak, none of that exists. If he was just an old part-timer who was, say, 18-3 at Wrestlemania, what difference would he make?

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  31. They don't have to build it up, though. It's a cliche at this point, but the focus is on the brand, and that requires little promotion.

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  32. Agreed. The guy has never been some consistent draw outside of Wrestlemania. His "mystique" is centered around the one show he works.

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  33. Wow, reading the thread below this comment makes me think that there are finally people like me who aren't seeing the same value in the streak beginning or ending due to the age of the streakholder.

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  34. I was thinking the exact same thing reading the review. Would've been right in Scott's wheelhouse, too...

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  35. If he did it for Chris Benoit I don't see why he wouldn't do it for Daniel Bryan, a guy they actually see money in.

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  36. And these notion of the Streak being a draw is bullshit. Mania is the draw, like the superbowl, most people dont give a fuck whos playing, they have their tickets a year out.

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  37. I would love them to do a history hype like with WMX, but at the same time covering 29 WM's might be a bit much.

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  38. Their builds are getting lazier and lazier.

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  39. He *is* an old guy.

    He just turned 45 in January, which makes him a few months older than Goldust, Road Dogg and Triple H (all 44) and older than Chris Jericho or RVD (both 43), Mark Henry or Big Show (both 42). The only two guys on the roster older than he is that I can think of are The Undertaker (48) and Billy Gunn (50).

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  40. They are building up new guys now. But they should have been doing it sooner.

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  41. For what it's worth, at the chamber they announced they would be back for Raw in June.

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  42. Undertaker magic.

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  43. So sad that all those guys might have matches Mania. It's seriously becoming WCW 1994.

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  44. Holy crap I completely agree.

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  45. He used to be Husky Harris! CM Punk walked out! We are SO CLEVER!!!

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  46. I'm okay with some of them still showing up, like Jericho and Goldust. Goldust can still go in tag matches, and Jericho looks a hell of a lot younger than RVD despite being one month older than him.

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  47. This sounds like a good Raw to me. Bryan beating Kane clean on Raw makes a lot more sense than doing that at Wrestlemania. Hogan returning is a fun bit of nostalgia to open a show. The Taker-Lesnar thing is as unimaginative as it gets, but I suppose no Brock feud needs a ton of storyline anyway. I don't get the negativity here. Some good TV matches and a good kick-off to Wrestlemania's build. Granted, I have no interest in the matches they are building TO, but at least the builds make some sense.

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  48. So what Bryan match does Scott want to see exactly? I would argue that every bit of the story since last summer (as bad as it's been most the way) builds to Bryan vs. HHH as the logical blow-off. The execution has not been great, or even particularly good, but how is that not THE match to finish off the Bryan vs. Authority angle?

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  49. This is why I don't get the point in the Hulu encores. Who decides to chop out the IC champ in a decent match? It's ridiculously stupid - just put the full thing on there and let folk skip what they don't want to see.

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  50. C'mon man....WM 9? 27? This card has no real appeal to me, but I think it could be a much better bunch of matches than several other shows.

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  51. 100% agree. I was choked when news leaked that Punk was going to face HHH. I would take this match over all others (even a WWE title match or a Brock match).

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  52. Well, if you watched the show and the complete lack of reaction from the crowd to 90% of what happened, you'd understand some of the negativity. It seemed to me like the crowd just didn't care about anything outside of Hogan and DB. Even DB had to press the crowd to react, looking at them a few times and waving his hands up to try and get them to cheer.



    I was excited to see Hogan initially, but he came out and literally only talked about the WWE Network, so it wasn't really entertaining in any way.



    Bryan/Kane and Big E/Cesaro were both good, but that was about 30/45 minutes of a 3 hour show where the rest of it blew.

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  53. If they had been booking Brock as an unstoppable killing machine for the last two years id be excited, but the guy lost to a semi retired HHH LAST YEAR.

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  54. That was a shitty crowd.

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  55. Still bringing all these guys back is really putting your midcard and lower card at a huge risk. They can't blossom into stars because the oldies keep coming back and taking their spots.

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  56. If HHH sees Cena or Batista type upside in Bryan he will job. If he doesn't he won't. HHH is the type that believes just hanging with him will put a guy over and would point to Sheamus as an example.

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  57. I don't know, it seems like a consolation prize to me. Bryan is clearly the hottest guy in the company, but they seemingly don't want him anywhere near the belt. I think it would be a much bigger Wrestlemania Moment (tm) for him to win the title to end the show than it would be to beat HHH.

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  58. Yes. One could argue that Undertaker's Streak helped "build" the brand and what not, but there is no measurable stat we can use to demonstrate that. I'm sure the Streak matches provide some sort of boost, but it's not as if Taker is carrying the Wrestlemania brand by any stretch. Nor has he EVER carried the company, despite all the rhetoric about his legacy

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  59. Why not Bryan vs. someone that HHH picks? Ambrose? Rollins? Or Rusev. I dont ever want to see HHH in the ring again hes old and was never that great to begin with.

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  60. Batista's MMA gym is probably more to train you how to watch UFC. What time to get there to get the best bar stool, when to order wings, how much beer to drink, how tight a t-shirt to wear, how long to say you've been a fan, when to yell out "I knew he was going to do that" and when to explain to those around you what you would have done to win the fight.,

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  61. I'll agree with you there. I think this card has potential to be at least SOMEWHAT entertaining when you compare it to 27. Bryan/HHH should be a good match, Taker/Brock has potential, the title match will have insane crowd reactions. I'm not super thrilled with the direction of mania and if it had a $70 price tag, I'd probably be thinking very hard about whether or not to order it, but for $9.99, I'll watch it.

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  62. I'm sorry but Undertaker vs. Lesnar will be average because even back in 2002, they needed a Cell and a ton of blood to have a good match, Batista vs. Orton NEVER had a good match. What makes you think 2014 will be different? Cena vs. Bray should be good, but we all know who's going over. Bryan vs. HHH is the only toss-up. Triple H has had many lackluster matches in the past couple of years. I think his matches with Taker at Mania 27, 28 were completely overrated by a lot of people. 28 was the better one but I had that pegged at ***1/2.


    The rest of the card is going to be a complete mess as I don't think they even care about it because most lower card and mid card Mania matches have like 2-3 weeks of build.


    At this point, I'd rather sit though a marathon of Mania 2, 4, 9, and 11 than watch this years.

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  63. I'm with you. Obviously the whole product is a work and there are no "wins and losses", but it really hurts the suspension of disbelief when the guy is an old part-timer who would realistically get murdered in five minutes by his opponent in this case. It feels more and more contrived with each year (even for the Undertaker)

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  64. I'm starting to think that Bryan is being plugged into the WM spot meant for Punk. What's sad is that means they truly had no big WM plans for Bryan, outside of a random match with Sheamus or Christian or someone.

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  65. Jesus, I had no idea Billy Gunn was 50, that really does blow my mind.

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  66. Not everyone can be booked like Sideshow Bob.

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  67. Oh, I agree. Just saying that a good wrestling roster can always use some strong veterans used well. However, it's concerning when the current roster has 9 (!) wrestlers who were stars in the 1990s (Triple H, Goldust, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Mark Henry, Big Show, Undertaker, Kane, Christian) eating up TV time over the next month.

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  68. The fact that the audience forced them into making plans for Bryan shouldn't really be a surprise. I think we knew that the moment he started feuding with the Wyatts.

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  69. After it became apparent that Daniel Bryan really won't be in the main event this year I turned off in disgust... this really is the most clear example of political BS I can remember in years. So DB works his ass off for a year, is the most organically over guy in the company since probably Austin/Rock, steals the show weekly with incredible matches..... gets buried month after month as not being able to get the job done.. his reward is a match against HHH which is basically a consolation prize for being 'Lugered' since Summerslam. Yet Batista trots back in to company as one of Triple H's 'boys' gets absolutely shitted on by the crowd to the point of embarrassment, shown nothing of any kind to deserve his position... BAM wins Royal Rumble, headlines Wrestlemania 30, likely to get 'that' WM moment holding the titles high as the show ends to spectacular pyro.

    That's the first time I've actually switched off out of pure disgust rather than sheer bordem. Fuck this company right now, the bitter dickhead in me is just hoping the Network crashes during WM30, this company doesn't deserve peoples money when they claim they give the people what they want yet completely/blatantly ignore it constantly.

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  70. The Bryan vs. the Authority angle have ended with Bryan beating Orton for the title.

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  71. That's what bothers me. I don't mind guys like Jericho, Goldust, RVD, Christian, and Henry. Those guys can still go, plus none are on TV stealing promo time or anything else. They just WORK. I don't like when Triple H is on TV 30 minutes a week, Big Show had the Survivor Series main event with him crying leading into it, The Outlaws doing their stupid microphone schtick in 2014. Stuff like that bothers me. They've had their time. Let's get the new guys over.

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  72. Agree fully...I'm totally fine with this. They could very easily have Bryan go over, let the crowd shit all over Orton/Batista, and then hotshot a Bryan title match the next night. I'd actually rather Bryan's title shot to be on the Post-WM Raw, just for how insane the crowd would be.

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  73. WAY too many skeletons in their closet to do that... At least prior to WM 10/20 there weren't LONG lists of now-deceased wrestlers. (Although I may stand corrected on 20, I'm just not sure.)

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  74. There's no way Batista/Orton closes the show. Right now smart money is on Brock/Taker and I'm holding out hope they let DB/HHH close.


    Batista/Orton will get buried in the midcard.

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  75. People have been complaining about the crowds at RAW since December. If the crowds have been dead or bored at every RAW for the last three months, it's time to stop blaming the crowds and instead blaming the company that's putting on the show.

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  76. A few weeks back I saw someone compare him to a fat chow chow, and now I cannot unsee it. http://www.dogbreedslist.info/uploads/allimg/dog-pictures/Chow-Chow-3.jpg

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  77. Why are people pumped for Batista Orton? Because you'll be able to hear like of us in attendance shit on the match? I wanna see Bryan with the title closing the show. Everything else is crap for me.

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  78. I will add that Taker and Lesnar will be awesome

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  79. If we hadn't already seen that match several times before too. I know it's been ten years, but they headlined three PPVs, so the whole "dream match" thing doesn't really stand up for me. Especially with the Network just launching, fans can just tune up any of the '02-'03 ppv meetings of the two when they were a decade younger

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  80. When do they ever do advance notice for matches on RAW anymore?

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  81. That crowd was dead for Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt. The same matchup crowds have been going apeshit for the past month. And they just had a killer match the night before so it's not like they've bungled the angle.


    It was a shitty crowd.

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  82. Don't forget about the ill-advised "Daniel Wyatt" turn. I won't go so far as to say they've "buried" him because that's too much of a stretch, but they've done everything they can to go against what the fans want.

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  83. Or worst Mania in the last 10-11 months? WM 29 was crap and the build up was much more predictable than this one's. At least, we're not sure what's going to happen each week (because Vince doesn't)

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  84. Honestly, the fact that he did it for Benoit... and what wound up happening afterward... might have chilled him on the idea of putting over the "crowd favorite".


    It would not surprise me if HHH admitted some day (yeah, we'll need truth serum for this) that he didn't put Punk over in 2011 for THAT VERY REASON.


    ... and then uses Punk's walkout as further justification for continuing to do that. Not a "friend of HHH" or "chosen one"? Tough shit. Even if you get audiences for 52 straight weeks chanting your name at every show, you get what he deems "your proper push."


    Dark? Yeah. A sad mindset/line of thought? Absolutely? Possible? Quoting one Steve Austin: "OH HELL YEAH!"

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  85. HHH is a much bigger name than any of those guys. They would be perfect hired guns for before/after Mania, but I would contend that HHH is the biggest available name for Bryan to beat (assuming that's the route they go).

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  86. Yeah, matching these two up for a Streak match is a bad idea because it kills the unbeatable mystique that Lesnar somehow still maintains despite him being beaten several times in the past two years. I'd rather have them both involved with other guys for Wrestlemania, and then do a match together at Summerslam or something where there is at least some suspense over who will win.


    The only suspense in the match right now is whether or not Taker gets injured working with a beast like Lesnar. Not quite as fun to think about.

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  87. Unless there's multiple arenas in Minneapolis, they'd have to schedule around NBA and NHL games. Minneapolis is also more likely to have large touring acts (rock bands, ice shows, etc.) than Green Bay.

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  88. People seem legitimately more excited for the negative reaction to Batista-Orton than they are in any positive way for the rest of the card. Not judging, just an observation.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Surely they don't want to bury the title in the midcard? Also again how bitter sweet is it, DB beats HHH in the main event but no title for show for it, just seems a bit off. Brock/Taker whilst I'm sure people will like/love, I have no interest in Undertaker matches now as it the sense of jeopardy of him ever losing is gone, the only way I'd dig Taker matches now is if he gave young guns like Roman Reigns or Bray Wyatt a shot, where they can still actually benefit a lot from the match without actually winning.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Seems like Bryan vs. Kane may have indeed been the plan for WM afterall. Wow

    ReplyDelete
  91. I think the biggest issue here is that too many promises appear to be made. Undertaker wanted Brock Lesnar, he was given Brock Lesnar. Batista wouldn't come back unless he won the Rumble, he won the Rumble. HHH wants to appear at WrestleMania despite being a fully retired wrestler, he gets his match. Long-term planning is nice and all, but after Survivor Series or so, you should be able to say "If WrestleMania were our next big event, here's what the fans would want to see" and make that happen.

    As unpopular as this opinion will be, Wyatts/Shield should not have happened until Extreme Rules. You have two gangs -- it fits the MO. Plus, both groups are still red-hot -- keep them together. Now you've had the match, you've had the Wyatts dismantle the Shield... but the fans liked the match and they want it again, and you have to rebook on the fly for your biggest event.

    WrestleMania should be a privilege, not a right.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Yeah it definitely should have. It still may at some point, but with Orton vs. Batista set, I think Bryan vs. HHH is the logical next step

    ReplyDelete
  93. So when does WWE 2K14 release DLC with Corporate Suit Kane and Assassin's Creed UT?

    ReplyDelete
  94. I think everyone would agree with you on Wyatts/Shield happening at WrestleMania.

    ReplyDelete
  95. What "unbeatable mystique"? That went away sometime between the first two HHH matches. I don't know about others, but my VIKING SPACE LORD stuff is pretty firmly tongue-in-cheek, and has been so since he jobbed to Cena in his return.


    Is it fun watching him toss around hapless jobbers and beating Big Show into a gooey pulp with a chair? Fuck yeah. Does it mean anything in the WWE? Fuck no.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Yeah I'm with you. I'm just beyond sick of The Undertaker superman routine, and I'd love to see a crowd absolutely turn on his old ass.

    Bet he skips the Chicago and Brooklyn shows between now and Mania.

    ReplyDelete
  97. I hear you, but why does the crowd reaction effect your enjoyment that much? I get that most of their shit is falling flat these days and rightfully so, but the bits of the show I've seen seemed just fine. I don't go see a movie and gauge my enjoyment by the crowd reaction. An electric crowd definitely adds a great deal, but I don't think a quiet crowd ruins everything

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  98. You are grossly over-thinking this. He wants to go after the title, but if another obstacle gets in his way, he takes a while to deal with it, then goes back into title contention.

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  99. Re-read. I would have held it all off until AFTER WrestleMania. Mania 30 should've been the Shield being destroyed and the Wyatts in ascension. Sure, you COULD do that match there, but the two groups seem more fit for Extreme Rules. Eh, what do I know.

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  100. I would hope most of the Doomers on this blog will come around on HHH-Bryan. HHH is more protected than anyone on the roster, and a win over him will look huge. But it's the whole "I love Bryan, I hate HHH" thing that seems to be going over people's heads...this is the perfect dynamic to really lose all disbelief and mark the hell out.

    I agree with everything else, too...except for maybe Taker-Brock...these are two at the highest level of professionalism with Heyman in the mix...it's going to be a fun ride.

    ReplyDelete
  101. Yep. The longer this streak goes, the more ridiculous it gets. Everybody can see how hobbled and broken down Undertaker is now. Stop putting him over capable, healthy guys to massage his ego.

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  102. He shows up one more time between now and Wrestlemania, IMO.

    ReplyDelete
  103. How about waterfront property in Idaho... any of these yours?

    https://www.lakehomesusa.com/waterfront/idaho/

    ReplyDelete
  104. It *might* go 2nd to last. I'm thinking WM28, Punk/Jericho was clearly #3 on the totem pole so they had UT/HHH in the middle as the "1st main event" and had Punk/Jericho go on before Rock/Cena.


    Either way, middle or 2nd to last, it ain't closing.

    ReplyDelete
  105. Oh man, if you just listen to old timers like JR, you'll know this is just a slow burn and you're stupid: https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/437801498559250432


    I'm with you...the shit with Bryan is beyond annoying. I streamed both the Rumble & the Chamber on the off-chance they came to their senses. They did not.

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  106. Have Rusev come out and murder Bryan. Keep Bryan out of the ring til Mania with his shoulder problem. Let Rusev beat everyone he faces in the next month in one minute squashes. Say he runs through the Big Show, Henry, and a couple other guys, you dont think the crowd would but him as a threat?

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  107. The initial plan was Bryan/Wyatt at WrestleMania.

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  108. Not a bad point, but it's still just another case of accepting a bad booking decision in hopes of something dramatically different happening soon after. How much better would it be to do it the other way around where Bryan wins the title at Wrestlemania, then the next night on Raw, HHH is so pissed that he personally challenges Bryan for the title, and Bryan beats HHH in front of the insane post-WM Raw crowd?

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  109. Maybe I'm just overly positive today, but I am at LEAST happy that the long-rumored HHH vs. Vince idea isn't taking center stage for WM30

    ReplyDelete
  110. Heel Batista vs. Face Bryan.


    It's not rocket science.

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  111. It's the 30th anniversary of Wresltemania and we are getting such a run of the mill show. Oh well, time to watch Wrestlemania V

    ReplyDelete
  112. You would rather see Bryan/HHH than Bryan/Batista or Bryan/Brock???


    I don't want to see HHH wrestle anyone ever again. He got two bad matches out of Brock. TWO!

    ReplyDelete
  113. Sure they would. But why wouldn't that work at, say, "Extreme Rules"? I think they should have been doing exactly that sort of thing ever since the Authority vs. Bryan thing kicked off. HHH & Steph throwing monsters at him and stacking the deck against DB, ala Vince vs. Austin.

    My point is that people have been wanting to see Bryan et his "big win" and a win over HHH at Wrestlemania is much bigger than Bryan vs. Rusev or Bryan vs. Rollins (which we have seen plenty of for months)

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  114. Incorrect. The crowds have been going apeshit for Shield vs. Wyatt Family. The groups are over as groups.

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  115. So the big blowoff to the feud that began in August, months before Batista was ever mentioned as returning, would be Batista vs Bryan?

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  116. I still see Lesnar the the best monster heel in the business. He can lose one night and get back to being just as over simply by squashing some jobbers and destroying a few chairs while belting out those pterodactyl shrieks. But maybe that's just me and my irrational enjoyment of anything the guy has done since debuting in 2002.

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  117. Sure, but that's not what's happening (yet). If Orton vs. Batista is the route they are going, HHH is the figurehead of the whole angle and, thus, the right guy for Bryan to beat.


    Bryan should have won the Rumble and won the title at WM to a huge "Yes" chant. But that's not what happened and it's not the course they are taking. So, aside from a triple threat (Orton-Batista-Bryan), who does Bryan face at this point? Brock would have been nice, but neither is champion and Taker-Lesnar is happening whether we want it or not

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  118. It's not "I love Bryan, I hate HHH", it's:
    - I've been watching a storyline of "Bryan needs to win the WWE Title" and that's the storyline I want to see play out, and it's not. It's also:
    - HHH is a terrible wrestler at this point, and his last few years of matches haven't been worth shit, and it sucks that the best wrestler on the roster is gonna be stuck in what will be a pretty bad wrestling match. It's also...
    - Bryan is going to absolutely be made to look pathetic in the build. Expect lots of snarky insider comments directed at undercutting his popularity and picking away at his character. (See HHH vs Punk, circa Sept 2011). It's also...
    - HHH is either going over in the match or losing on a banana peel finish after whipping Bryan's ass for 20 plodding minutes.



    Dude, look at the crowd reaction when Bryan was trying to push that "the crowd wants HHH vs Bryan!" bullshit. They weren't buying it and he basically had to beg for a response. Even something as simple as that makes him look like shit.

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  119. WWE keeps moving the damned goalposts... so at this point HHH/Bryan means damn near nothing to me. That ship sailed back around SurSer/Rumble. WWE CANNOT make up it's mind on angle advancement... sometimes it's Attitude-era instafeuds (Bryan/Wyatt) and sometimes it's old-school slow burn, just out of order (Bryan chasing the title.)


    Bryan winning the title SHOULD be the WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT this year.

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  120. It just feels like a waste of Brock IMO. When Brock came back there were 2 guys I felt he HAD to fight, Cena and HHH (I'm not saying he had to fight him 3 times...). After that I was hoping for fresh matchups, like Punk, DB, Sheamus, Batista now that he's back.


    We've been here before with UT/Brock. But who knows, they might suck me in. Last night was a great start.

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  121. It would work at ER, but my point is I dont want to see HHH in the ring EVER AGAIN. They have a roster FULL of yound guys that can go, find a proxy and run with it. Its just my opinion and im not interested in what the rest of the fans want, just putting out matches id rather see.

    ReplyDelete
  122. I agree. Bryan vs. HHH has been the real feud all along, for all its million flaws. Batista as HHH's avatar would have (and still will) work just fine, but that's not what they are doing. They still may, and probably should, go that route after Wrestlemania though

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  123. HHH sucks in the ring. That's my problem with HHH/Bryan.


    And the whole feud with Bryan/HHH has been about the WWE Title - Triple H only had an issue with Bryan because he didn't want Bryan as champion. It's the exact same thing as Austin/McMahon but there was always a wrestler stepping in for McMahon (DudeLove, Kane, Taker, etc.)


    That's why it should be building toward Bryan winning the WWE Title from the Authority's chosen one (Batista would be perfect, Orton would suffice) as Triple H tries to interferes and his plan is ultimately foiled.


    If Bryan beats Triple H....so what? Does he re-win the mythical "Face of WWE" title that he won on Raw last month? Does he get a 6th PPV title shot where he gets screwed over?


    NO ONE wants to see Bryan face HHH. They want to see Bryan as champion. THAT is what the build should be to.

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  124. Irrational enjoyment... that's almost the PERFECT description for WWE Creative.


    The product can be fun and entertaining... but there's a decided lack of logic behind that fun more often than not.

    ReplyDelete
  125. We wrote the exact same thing at the exact same time. duuuuuude

    ReplyDelete
  126. Yeah, you're right. Roman Reigns the individual isn't over.


    I wish we could still downvote.

    ReplyDelete
  127. I agree with you to an extent. But if there wasn't the fan backlash, he wouldn't even be the spot he's in now, so there's that. Being in a match (and for the love of God hopefully beating) HHH is a 1000x better than a match with Sheamus.

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  128. The crowd was in hour 4 of a pretty boring ass taping which had already seen:
    - Several long midcard matches
    - The absolute final nail in the coffin of the "Bryan wins the title at Mania" storyline
    - A terribly underwhelming Hogan return
    - Various other boring WWE nonsense.

    The crowd was bored and a little angry, which has become the norm for WWE shows. I don't blame them one bit for shitting on the match.

    ReplyDelete
  129. Hahaha, no, but I am always looking for potential real estate opportunities!

    ReplyDelete
  130. Wow, I was just about to write "duuuuuuude". FREAKY.

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  131. With the launch of the network, THIS is exactly the year to start pushing young guys up the card and feature them in high-profile Mania matches.


    When you no longer have to worry about the PPV revenue stream, make the fans happy and deliver a card chock full of good matches and screw the buyrate.


    This company has its head up its ass.

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  132. I really wanted to see HHH vs DB for the title (HHH as champ). This is a reasonable consolation prize, especially if they do the smart thing and let them close the show.

    ReplyDelete
  133. I think the time-tested formula of the hottest babyface in the company winning his first title at Wrestlemania would satiate most of us here.

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  134. Big Dave is the one in the Marvel produced summer movie, Daniel Bryan is not. It sucks. We all agree. But you have to understand their mentality: Vince so badly wants his guys to be seen as big time, mainstream stars.


    So, yeah, turn it off if you don't like it, but from a logical standpoint (meaning understanding the companies MO) it all makes sense.


    Also, I don't understand the people saying that they've never given the fans what they want in regards to Bryan. They did abort the Daniel Wyatt angle (which was never meant to be seen as a real heel turn) due to the Michigan State response. So, I think that's what makes it so damn frustrating because obviously they show the capability to not be so stubborn.


    Still, the Batista thing is an horrible botch, but I can still see why Vince is digging his heels in on it. The problem all along was Orton. The again, didn't we all want an Orton heel turn?


    So it just seems that people are mad at the product and choosing cynicism over just turning it the hell off and protesting by not giving them money or ratings.

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  135. They haven't done that in 9 years.

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  136. Well he does have to beat up Brock some more before he beats him again at Mania.

    ReplyDelete
  137. But it kinda worked 9 years ago, didn't it? And in 98.

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  138. I still like WM9. I would substitute 4 in its place. Or 2.

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  139. I spent many years saying they should just unify the titles and be done with it. Now that they have....I almost wish they had two separate ones at least through Wrestlemania so that this Orton-Batista mid-card disaster wasn't THE title match.

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  140. WrestleMania has done far more for Undertaker than vice versa.


    Remember, when he headlined WM26 vs. HBK, the show's buyrate tanked. Only WrestleMania since 23 that didn't do 1+ million.

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  141. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANFebruary 25, 2014 at 11:05 AM

    His matches tend to be really good, that's why nobody turns on him. And he's a more interesting babyface than that guy with the rainbow of t-shirts and wristbands

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  142. "When the gods wish to destroy us, they answer our prayers."

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  143. DV away. It just won't show, unfortunately.

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  144. If they saw Bryan as having Cena/Batista upside, he'd be WWE Champion right now.

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  145. Yeah. It's a catch-22. I was thinking the same thing last night. This would be a perfect opportunity for Batista/Orton to fight for the big gold belt, and then they would be able to have Bryan go for the WWE title.

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  146. The Love-Matic Grampa!February 25, 2014 at 11:07 AM

    I have no doubt that HHH will do the job at Wrestlemania, just like I have no doubt that he'll cut the standard "ten years ago I'd have destroyed you, kid" promo and that the match will be forgotten in a matter of weeks.

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  147. One smart thing about last night's show though is it was awesome how Undertaker manhandled Brock, that way it seems like Taker has a fighting chance to end Brock's 20 year undefeated streak at Mania. Especially since Taker lost at Mania last year, and has seemed so easily beatable in big matches. Very smart booking there.


    OH. WAIT....

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  148. I have never understood why 9 gets SO much shit while 2 barely gets a mention. 2 is absolutely the worst.


    I'm too much of a Savage mark to look at 4 objectively.

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  149. What a victory for ADR! After being beaten down for weeks (including being eliminated at the Royal Rumble), he gets a cheap distraction rollup and doesn't even get to celebrate his win.

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  150. Oh I agree. If we are going back to last fall or so and re-booking the whole thing. I am just talking about the reality of NOW. Orton vs. Batista is happening, for better or worse (worse). HHH is the most logical opponent at this point in the progression. At least it's not Kane, Sheamus, Wyatt, etc. Bryan wasn't getting Lesnar or Taker, so HHH is the biggest name for him to beat and blow-off this mess.

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  151. What are you guys talking about? They can do a 30-second spot on each show, focusing on something cool or interesting that happened at each show. Like the WrestleMania moments they did leading up X or XX, which was like, "At WrestleMania 12, Stone Cold Steve Austin made his WrestleMania debut."


    Just little things to put over the magnitude of the event. They are treating like just another PPV.

    ReplyDelete
  152. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANFebruary 25, 2014 at 11:08 AM

    Rusev is going to be about as over as I would be. You can see this coming a mile away.

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  153. I think the closest Bryan gets to a victory is a 20 minute ass-kicking from HHH, complete with HHH kicking out of Bryan's finisher at 1. Then Bryan wins via interference from say Kane, a small package, a quick count from that fired ref from Night of Champions, and HHH smirks as he walks down the aisle and does a mock Yes chant.


    Honestly, that's about the best case scenario for that match.

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  154. It was more about the Batista loss than the Del Rio win for me. It shows that they might be changing their minds about Batista, so it's a good thing.

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  155. I'm with you. I think the part-timers and nostalgia acts have to stop and they need to start making the young talent the "special" names on the roster for sure.

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  156. But not too big...or else they'll leave Vince and the WWE high and dry.

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  157. Has a crowd EVER turned on UT? I can't think of any time.

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  158. Ah... yeah, that makes more sense.

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  159. your nickname really should be "Worst_attitude_in_the_world". You depress me with your constant gloom and doom negativity.

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  160. Agreed, I know it's a cheap loss via distraction but I doubt they'd have done that if they were really fully behind Batista. Orton could have came out after Batista won and cut the same promo.

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  161. I disagree, his matches with HHH were boring, and im not sure how some geek in a leather cloak is interesting. Im not 6 so his entrance isnt spooky and he looks like a fucking idiot. Let Brock kill him, then they can roll out the green fog and wizard of oz floating head bullshit.

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  162. Well, I'm out for the day. the overbearing negativity is seriously bringing me down. it's mind boggling really.

    ReplyDelete
  163. Yeah, that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but at least it wasn't just them STARING AT THE SIGN. Still a ton of time for them to make us believe Brock has a chance, and then there's the match: every year Undertake somehow convinces that crowd that he's going to lose. Did anyone really think Punk was going to win last year? Yet EVERYONE in the arena was so into the match, they thought the spot with the urn could have been the finish.


    It'll be an awesome match. I just fear for Undertaker's health leading up to the match.

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  164. Didn't they come close last year against Punk? Despite the PUNK HEEL, BOO PUNK booking there were still dueling chants and pops for Punk leading into and at Wrestlemania.

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  165. X-Pac's tweet about poor positioning of the Reigns-Bray match sounds reasonable, but it's not just that the crowd was sitting on its hand: it started cheering for Undertaker (OK) and Jerry Lawler (really?)

    Coming off the great six-man at EC, this crowd should have been hot for anything involving these two, even if this was the third time they'd seen the Wyatts, the reason for the match was threadbare, and the crowd was waiting for interference specifically because they agreed there would NOT be interference.

    The Shield and Bray may be great/the future, but this crowd response shows that they are not yet ready to be main event stars.

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  166. But there's no logical reason to hope for it--it's been too long and they're just not doing it.

    When Jeff Hardy was getting massively over at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 (and the only person to out-sell Cena in merchandise), it felt like the rise of HBK all over again. Now, he was busted a month prior to Mania, but he should've been in position to win at Mania. Bryan clearly should've been put into a position to win the title at Mania this year as he was the company's hottest act for a good 8-9 months (around the same length as Austin before 14).



    But they don't operate like that anymore. So, let's recalibrate. Give Bryan a win over the biggest heel in a marquee match at the biggest show of the year? I'm not complaining.

    ReplyDelete
  167. Yeah. Around Survivor Series last year, I was thinking the perfect progression would be for Bryan and Punk to end up being the champions headed into Wrestlemania, despite all the efforts of the Authority to dethrone the "rebel" fan favorites. Bryan finally wins the WWE title from Orton (Rumble?). Punk wins the World Title. One of them wins the Rumble or Elimination Chamber, so you end up with Bryan vs. Punk unifying the belts at Wrestlemania. The storyline conclusion being that HHH's nightmare scenario came true: the two guys he's been trying to hold down unifying "his" titles on the biggest stage.

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  168. So what do you think would even be the next step if they're changing their mind about Batista? Because if Bryan/HHH is on and Batista/Orton is on, I don't see what turning Batista heel even does. It just sets up a heel vs heel match.

    I kinda think their plan is to have Batista acknowledge the reaction, and try to turn the fans around by taking the steam out of it. Sort of the cena "Boo me if you want, but I'm gonna smile and not care, so you're just wasting your energy" type of think. Basically see if they can tire the fans out from even caring enough to boo, ya know?

    ReplyDelete
  169. The logical blowoff is Bryan ending WrestleMania as WWE champion. And the right guy for Bryan to beat is the WWE champion.


    Let's just spend the next week praying they bring Punk back so he can occupy Triple H and let Bryan in the title match.

    ReplyDelete
  170. True, true. I think someone needs to pitch a reality show for the Network where it's just Vince on a shrink's couch pouring out all of his insecurities.

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  171. True. But with many people thinking it was a WM match I thought they could have given notice this week for the match next week.

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  172. Yup. Which then leads him to calling on his Evolution buddies to take the titles off of them at Mania.

    ReplyDelete
  173. Yeah, when it was clear that this plan was bombing after the Rumble. They have booked themselves into this corner that they're in, but it's nothing that couldn't have been fixed by Big Dave being screwed out of his Mania title shot... it's not like it hasn't happened before.

    ReplyDelete
  174. Best possible booking they could do. Just get it all out of everyone's system right off the bat. "We're going to job Lesnar and we're gonna job him so hard, he'll change his last name to Lombardi. And just in case you have any doubt, the biggest, baddest dude on our roster is going to get choke slammed through a table and won't get up until half-way through the post-game show."

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  175. Any chance of Orton/Batista opening Mania?

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  176. I was super high on the product all summer, and even gave them the benefit of the doubt with the Authority angle up through the abeyance stuff. Ever since then I've thought the big picture stuff has been shit, so, I don't know what to tell you.

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  177. It's ridiculous for JR to claim that this is some sort of long-planned "slow burn", as if the all-time disaster buyrates for Battleground and Survivor Series were part of the plan and hotshotting a World title unification are somehow signs that everything will pay off just fine.

    ReplyDelete
  178. NOC 2011 Build 2: This Time It's for This Business-Ah

    ReplyDelete
  179. I love Savage, too, but 4 is loooong and boring. I barely made it through without taking a nap as an 8-year-old mark.

    ReplyDelete
  180. Ignore Vince. It's our only option now that we can't downvote everything he says.

    ReplyDelete
  181. The Love-Matic Grampa!February 25, 2014 at 11:15 AM

    No, I think HHH is smart enough to know that he has to lay down clean for Bryan after everything that has happened. However, I also fully expect him to get in all his petty little digs and jabs verbally beforehand, blow off the match during the post-Mania RAW promo (assuming he even shows up) and then go right back to being COO as if nothing happened. Any "boost" Bryan gets from beating him will be negligible at best, because it will be quickly forgotten as they move forward to Extreme Rules...unless HHH decides to get his win back.

    ReplyDelete
  182. You don't think it is justified?

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  183. Oh, I read that wrong. So my reply doesn't make sense. If you unify at Mania, then yes. But I think HHH having to call his old buddies to take down those rebels works too. Have Orton/Punk and Batista/Bryan...faces go

    ReplyDelete
  184. Your heart rate's gonna go up by a single beat, no matter how many tables Brock F5s Undertaker through, knowing Brock is a part timer? I think (well, I'd hope) even the 5-year-olds know who's around and who barely is.

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  185. I'm not either... I think a win over HHH and winning the title either the next night or at Extreme Rules is great. You just asked what Scott wanted, and that's it... and as a logical wrestling fan, it's not hard to think that that's what they should do.

    ReplyDelete
  186. Hey everythings great guys all three main events feature part time guys that most of us dont care about any more.

    ReplyDelete
  187. I think the difference with last year's match was how insanely over Punk was as a babyface with the Mania crowd. yeah he'd been booked like shit in the build up and you knew he didn't have a chance, but the crowd was just so into Punk that it didn't matter. I was there all Mania weekend, and crowds were chanting for Punk throughout every break at the Hall of Fame show, and the crowd at mania was 50/50 Punk chants. The build was bad, but the crowd was so into Punk that they bought him as a threat anyway.

    Lesnar just doesn't have that connection with the crowd to make up for his complete lack of believability as a threat. Take a look at the response that Lesnar/HHH got at Mania last year--- I'd say this year will comp more to that than to a typical Streak match.

    ReplyDelete
  188. You could say the same thing with WMX, not as many skeletons, but they did omit a lot of history (mostly with Hulk Hogan) and WWE always loves rewriting history anyway so it'd be fun to see what spin they take on things.

    ReplyDelete
  189. Alright, so Bootista wins WWE title at WM and the crowds hates every minute of it. If you are WWE and have signed him to a 2 year contract, what do you do?

    ReplyDelete
  190. Only problem with this is people would have wanted to see that match. Some of the older guys would have been jealous.

    ReplyDelete
  191. Reigns in particular. Dude is awesome when he's in a tag match, but he's still a ways away from being in a spot like that where he needs to win the crowd back.


    My biggest issue with the match: they locked up and then proceeded to wrestle (with lots of rest holds). They should have just brawled all over the building.

    ReplyDelete
  192. Hey, it worked for Cena didn't it?
    Oh wait, no, it didn't. They just tried over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over? and over! and over again.

    ReplyDelete
  193. Good Ol' JR is still pining to get his job back. Ahhh, he'll be a McMahon shoeshine boy for life.

    ReplyDelete
  194. Wait it out until they can stop promoting Guardians of the Galaxy. They want Big Dave on that red carpet with the belt. It's going to happen.

    ReplyDelete
  195. Bootista sells out and Bryan wins the belt at SS, trying to salvage what would've been an epic WM moment as a "1 year later, the circle is finally complete!" type of thing.

    ReplyDelete
  196. "We have enough money, and we've screwed over better people than you. Fuck you Dave."

    ReplyDelete

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