Scott,
It's rare when there's a universal consensus amongst wrestling fans, but I think we can all agree that "The Juggernaut" Roman Reigns was the clear choice to win the Slammy Award for Superstar Of The Year based on his numerous accomplishments in this, his breakout year. Is it too early to start discussing where he ranks all time in the pantheon of WWE greats?
Also, did you know that you can watch all his classic matches for only $9.99 a month on the WWE Network?
In all seriousness, much like the 2007 NBA MVP, there just shouldn't have been a winner this year.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to the emailer:
ReplyDelete7.
Hope that helps!
Also, best email.
ReplyDeleteAt least his promo was decent, I s'pose.
ReplyDeleteBlame it on the reign
ReplyDeleteSeth Rollins. Then his stooges need a wheelbarrow to drag around his 26 slammies. This shit writes itself.
ReplyDeleteDO YOU DARE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE VOCAL STRAINS OF ROMAN REIGNS?
ReplyDeleteHe was just given the award to hype his return. No way he was voted it by the fans over the likes of Bryan, Ambrose, and even Cena
ReplyDeleteTurns him face though.
ReplyDeleteWeird that they normally show the vote percentages but not last night, mm.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand the reign.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a sign that they're going full steam ahead with him. Might as well get on board or switch to a different train line now.
ReplyDeleteWhat, no up votes? That was the same basic joke! It's just a damn popularity contest with you kids!
ReplyDeleteApropos of nothing i suppose but my friend Kevin is in a band called The Juggernaut Agenda, which sounds like a fitting description of this Reigns initiative.
ReplyDeleteReigns feels like when Fandangoing was a thing and people started to think it was cool, and then WWE started wedging it down people's throats and pushed it so hard that no one liked it, whereas if they'd have just quit pushing so hard it might have grown on its own. Instead they pet the kitty til its neck breaks and thsn wonder why people aren't into it.
Why did you think "train metaphor" specifically? I'm just curious. Roman Reigns Roams By Train?
ReplyDeleteScrew the Juggernaut. The Architect is so much better! He out-sports entertained everyone this year.
ReplyDeleteMad props to the Lunatic Fringe, though. He came in second in my unofficial rankings for the award. It was pretty weird that the Apex Predator was nowhere near this list, however.
Note: No one, not even the kids I teach, ever refers to the guys by these forced nicknames. EVER.
They do call Reigns "dat big nigga", Rollins, "dat faggot", and AMBROSE, "dat gay dude."
ReplyDeleteIf they really go with him for the WM main event, it could be a train wreck. Has he ever had a good one on one match? He's been protected in six man tags with the shield. But I can't recall any good matches with just him.
ReplyDeleteI think Roman Reigns is more of a Maroon 5 type of guy
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky they did away with down votes or you'd be getting bombarded right now
ReplyDeletewhatever you do (when it flops) don't put the blame on you.
ReplyDeleteI loved that HHH/Eugene/Regal stuff. Especially that one segment where HHH was like, "WOW, Regal, I'm so disappointed in you. Anybody that would use a guy like Eugene to get what he wants is just DESPICABLE." all with a shameless, shit eating grin.
ReplyDeleteI can remember a band called Lunatic Calm, from the very late 90s. I'd often see their video before Aphex Twin. Aphex... Apex...
ReplyDeleteIf some third gen wrestler gets called "The Prodigy" I'm calling it. VINCE HAS REACHED THE 90s!
And I do understand the concept of branding. It's just that, ever since Stephanie's been in charge of this stuff, they've been so bad at it.
ReplyDeletebeep beep who got the keys to the jeep? vroooommmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteWho'll stop the reign?
ReplyDeleteThat's okay. It was a Simpsons ref. I'm not being serious.
ReplyDeleteIn a legit poll, he wouldn't even outscore the other two Shield guys.
ReplyDeleteIt's my window!
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting, for sure. I'm not sure if they want to try out an experiment for the main event of their biggest show of the year. Like a lot of people here, I just hope he magically finds the spark/"it"/whatever between now and then.
ReplyDeleteScherzer might get $200 million + from the Tigers?!?! I should have been a pitcher
ReplyDeleteMakes more sense than the face winning it before doing anything.
ReplyDeleteBelieve that!
ReplyDeleteYou doubt the wishes of the WWE Universe? C'mon bro.
ReplyDeleteWho's to say that's true? He's not popular on this blog but he gets a huge pop from the fans.
ReplyDeleteIn a year where titles meant nothing and the World Heavyweight champion only wrestled 4 times this year, maybe Roman does deserve it.. I don't really think that though. truthfully a case could be made for Randy Orton or even Cena, but they wanted to give it to the guy that hasn't won a title or headlined a PPV and was out for months.. whatever..
ReplyDeleteAlso, they never *really* overlapped, did they? Rocky basically bowed out of regular competition on the very PPV HBK returned to active status; when he returned in 03, he was only around very briefly (and then locked into feuds with Austin and Goldberg - whilst HBK was feuding with Jericho). I can't see them having the scope for even one PPV match, in the event Rock would've been up for it.
ReplyDeleteIIRC it was a damn good match too, helped "make" Booker as a main event giy IMO.
ReplyDeleteLucha Underground backstage promos are like watching Oz.
ReplyDeleteI know this is all snark and what not but D-Bry was still superstar of the year even if he missed 7 months of it.
ReplyDeleteThe last dude to main event with this little momentum was UT back in 97. IIRC, he did a clean job to Vader at the Rumble that year in a clear wtf moment.
ReplyDeleteFor sure. I actually love your idea the more I think about it... But it would I think kill too much heel heat for him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year? It would be very Owen!
Didn't Paul Bearer hit UT in the head with the urn, which lead to the Vader Bomb and pinfall?
ReplyDeleteI can't remember. Even if it happened like you said, that's still pretty clean by UT's standards.
ReplyDeletesomething something Vince Jordan alt something something whatever.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I got nothing.
I'm just happy to see you!
ReplyDeleteTaker had no momentum. He feuded with Terry Gordy in December '96, lost to Vader like you mentioned, then lost the Four Way Match in February '97.
ReplyDeleteA little much even by 1995 Vince standards. Hell, 1995 Vince might even do the gulping face.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure a large check can motivate Brock to carry him. Now if they didn't learn from the last time they had an unmotivated Brock in a big WM match.
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything against Reigns. He's right out of central casting. But, damn they just make people hate stuff they're supposed to love and love stuff they're supposed to hate.
Watching Armageddon 2004. This Jesus that's about to wrestle Cena looks like the British Bulldog.
ReplyDeleteThen won the title as pretty much an afterthought. People give WWE the business about Punk's reign taking a backseat but UT was just holding it until Bret wanted it.
ReplyDeleteUT didn't get interesting until AFTER he lost it. The feud with HBK then with Kane.
Congrats to The Big Dog, or as we like to call him on the playground, The Juggernaut, on winning an award thanks to Samoan Fabio good looks and favorable standing within the WWE corporate politics spiderweb.
ReplyDeleteHope to see him rise above the hate and beat THEDEMONKANE (the so-called Big Red Corporate Sellout) in a Brass Ring on a Pole match at Summerfest.
Maybe we'll get to see those new acting chops put to the test. If there's one thing I appreciate as a longtime fan (I'm sorry - "member of the WWE Universe"), it's the knowing that any rogue traces of authenticity with wrestlers have been whitewashed away by hollywood writers controlling every aspect of a character.
Resigning 500 year old Martinez was questionable (too many years), perhaps spending $200 million + on Scherzer is a bit much, but doing nothing to fix the bullpen is moronic.
ReplyDeleteAs WWF Champion, he was cleanly pinned by Kama on Raw, before the KOTR. One of the worst booked title reigns of the '90s.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he job when Ahmed turned heel? or did that end in dq?
ReplyDeleteI remember him getting the Pearl River Plunge, but I don't remember if it was during a match or what not.
ReplyDeleteThey most likely would have faced at WM20 if Rock wanted to work with him since Rock wasn't doing anything and HBK was added to the triple threat match at the last minute.
ReplyDeleteWow, I remember when WWE booked Ric Flair for the Hall of Fame and TNA got two dates on a WWE guy, I was desperate for them to book Angle vs. Danielson. Instead we got a bored Christian doing a promo and TNA not bothering to cash-in his second appearance.
ReplyDeleteSlamboree '96 had Animal & Booker T. vs. Hawk & Lex Luger.
ReplyDeleteIt was UT/Ahmed vs Farooq and probably Kama. Ahmed turned on him but I don't know if the match had a finish
ReplyDeleteWho was better?
ReplyDeleteJesus or Zeus?
DAT Faggot is also one of Cornette's names for Kevin Dunn.
ReplyDeleteIt was Ahmed/UT vs. Farooq/Kama. On YouTube, look up "Ahmed Johnson joins Nation of Domination."
ReplyDeleteWow. Tough question. I'll go with Zeus
ReplyDeleteBig dog winning! It's a New day!
ReplyDeleteI mean that full program Savage had laid out
ReplyDeleteThe promo hyping the No Holds Barred PPV with Zeus, Savage and Sherri might be my favourite promo of all time!
ReplyDeleteAre you racist?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite memory of Zeus was Gorilla Monsoon saying, "I don't care if he has a Z shaved on the side of his head, it's not legal!" And of course Sherri throwing baby powder at Hogan and Beefcake, allowing Zeus and Savage a chance to pummel the faces.
ReplyDeleteI like to imagine he got the Z on his head by the same guy as in Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas.
ReplyDeleteYes!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is too clever for me...
ReplyDeleteHey hey no way! It's a New day! Big dog is OK but big e is on his way! New day baby!
ReplyDeleteHogan had zero intention of working Mania 9 until after Warrior was already fired.
ReplyDeleteThat's not what a CBO does.
ReplyDeleteBut Bret's larger than life charisma would have overshadowed Austin and Tyson.
ReplyDeletehe did job in that match. wow
ReplyDeleteHooray!
ReplyDeleteOf course Ahmed was injured before Canadian Stampede, so the clean job and turn were wasted.
ReplyDeleteWelcome for he BoD!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Tyson would have come to Bret's hotel room and tell him with a tear in his eye that when he bit Holyfield's ear, it was that same technique Tyson borrowed from Bret when he watched Bret nibble on Sunny's ear.
ReplyDeleteThey should've went all out and given it to Cena. And also given that Cena/Orton match at the PPV the MOTY.
ReplyDeleteForget the Stampede, Ahmed got injured every time he peed!
ReplyDeleteNot as often on camera as I would expect, though, eh?
ReplyDeleteAre you sure Savage just didn't want time off for a spell to recover from his divorce? His documentary definitely implied as much.
ReplyDeleteToo be fair, Cena has been pretty much the only constant all year.
ReplyDeleteMeh. They want to push him, so they're pushing him. At least they aren't doing the 50/50 booking with him. I don't have a problem with them giving him this slammy, the entire sport is a work, so why not these too? It's not as though people will now not like Daniel Bryan because he didn't win this award that no one will remember in a few months.
ReplyDeleteAw yea I can see it happening since they were putting booker over big at that time. I just didnt know it was completely clean. Ppl say brock beat rock clean but he didnt.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm pretty sure I also recognize Stephanie's not in the writer's room coming up with nicknames. I'm talking about the overall direction and their attempts to solidify brand names and brand value
ReplyDeleteI bet he'd get more votes than Seth. Not sure about Ambrose.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is, Seth's had the best year of the three.
Even Cena? You do realize that he's the biggest star on the roster, and most of the 'WWE Universe' are what we'd consider 'marks'?
ReplyDeleteI always thought Megapowers vs Demolition in late 88/early 89 would have been big. If the Demos hadnt't turned face at the Survivor Series, the time may have been right at The Main Event II when the Megapowers exploded.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ramen Reigns said "this ain't a hologram, baby, this is the real thing" the arena went nuclear. People started kissing strangers in the mouth. I called all of my friends. I called ex girlfriends. I wrote my mother a letter. I went outside and revved my Harley for an hour. When Ramen made shoot comments on "grabbing the brass ring" and other stuff from Vinny Mac's interview on Stone Cold's podcast on the WWE Network for only $9.99, my wiener became as hard as diamonds. I started furiously cranking my hog, this time, a euphemism for masturbation. Ramen Reigns - The Feel Good Story of 2014, 2015, and forever.
ReplyDeleteSo the guy who won Superstar of the Year has been injured for months, didn't have a World title match this year and has never main-evented a PPV without the Shield.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the current WWE champion who is the one in 21-1 and beat John Cena senseless for the title isn't even in the discussion.
It's obvious the award should be renamed to "Vince and Hunter's Man Crush of the Year."
Yeah, I'm sure that's part of it, but mostly over steroids I think.
ReplyDeleteThe WWF depended on Hogan so heavily and the dragging through the mud loomed large. I think they wanted to get him and his suddenly shrinking body off of television before the heat really got turned up.
I think that's why they slapped on the 'this could be Hogan's last match!" stipulation out of nowhere a couple of weeks prior.
Wade Keller's theory is that there actually planning on turning him heel and he was given SOTY w/ the sole purpose of making fans reject him (more). I can see them trying to get him hot as a heel and then having a re-do on his face turn, but that makes it unlikely he's a face again by 'mania.
ReplyDeleteIf they are having him win the Royal Rumble, they pretty much have to. If they think an ECW loving crowd in Philadelphia is cheering him at Royal Rumble, they are insane.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same company that thought fans would be behind Batista.
ReplyDeleteThat's craziness. There's no way that they could execute a plan that sophisticated.
ReplyDeleteEither a.) run it on Raw, or run Shawn-Diesel on Raw and Razor-Shawn at IYH, or b.) envision a hypothetical world where the promise of a renewed heel push leads to Razor re-upping.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVBO9CfCLBk
ReplyDeleteGranted, there were shenanigans, but it's as clean as it ever got with Billy.
Source for any of this? There were no real plans to turn Warrior heel, at any point.
ReplyDeleteI knew saying "even Cena" would prompt this exact response from someone. I meant it as he's probably won that award before so even the marks would be likely to vote for Bryan over him this year.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Reigns apologist here, but he'd be a terrible heel. His strong point is that he's effortlessly cool and has a super hot finishing sequence. Making him a heel would require him to control the majority of the match with his underwhelming moveset and change his finisher into something people don't pop for.
ReplyDeleteHe worked in the Shield cause he was part of a team, as is, turning a charismatic Samoan into a cocky jerk doesn't exactly work for making you hate them.
And turning Reigns into a monster heel will get him cheered, he's too pretty to be Vader or Kane.
You do realize that wrestling is fake, right?
ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 92 that was the long term idea they were working with toward mania. they werent thinking hart/yoko summer of 92 that is for sure. what do you think they were thinking would be the wm 9 main event at that point? I did some research number of years ago going through old observers/torch etc to find out what the 'real' wrestlemania plan was gonna be for wm9 because clearly hart/yoko was some last minute junk they threw together at the last minute. warriorvs returnign hogan was the plan laid out at one point that they seemed to want to tentatively be going for. Plans changed obviously.
ReplyDeleteThere might be another heel-loving jerks that'd vote for Seth out of spite.
ReplyDeleteSeth is WWE's MVP, 98 was Austin, 99 was Rock, 2000 was Triple H, 2011 was Punk, 2013 was Bryan, and 2014 is Rollins.
I think Rollins might be the first "Man" who wasn't even in a title match during his year.
I'll say we'll get a Rollins face run by the end of 2015.
ReplyDeleteHis voice will be a big stumbling block, but he's good enough in the ring to make up for it.
could be a factor. regard less savage wasnt drawing as champ during his spring/summer 92 run and vince wanted belt off him and to phase him out as he thought savage was finished as a headliner and big draw.
ReplyDeleteI never heard that and wouldnt see why hogan would care since him returning would have him placed higher on the card then whatever warrior was doing
ReplyDeleteI wish I could favorite a post.
ReplyDeleteDon't encourage him.
ReplyDeleteJust a brawl on Raw leading to the LOD 2000 makeover.
ReplyDeleteEven present day Angle working just one PEG show now would kick so much ass. Crowd would lose it
ReplyDelete