RAW Ratings
RAW had 5.35 million viewers this past Monday, the highest since the "RAW 1,000" show in 2012. Here are the hourly breakdowns:
8pm: 5.60 million
9pm: 5.23 million
10: 5.27 million
http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe-news/41877-incredible-raw-numbers-for-day-after-wrestlemania
Lana Update
It has been reported that Vince McMahon is "super high" on Lana and apparently has big plans for her.
http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0331/592011/big-push-coming-for-a-wwe-diva/
WWE Diva Turning Heel?
There are rumors that Emma will be doing a full heel turn on the main roster.
http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0331/592026/backstage-update-on-wwe-changing-how-the-divas-division-is/
NXT Talent Released
CJ Parker was released from the company this past Saturday. It was reported that Parker reuested the released himself and it was granted on amicable terms.
http://pwinsider.com/article/92745/wwe-nxt-star-gone-from-company.html?p=1
RAW had 5.35 million viewers this past Monday, the highest since the "RAW 1,000" show in 2012. Here are the hourly breakdowns:
8pm: 5.60 million
9pm: 5.23 million
10: 5.27 million
http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe-news/41877-incredible-raw-numbers-for-day-after-wrestlemania
Lana Update
It has been reported that Vince McMahon is "super high" on Lana and apparently has big plans for her.
http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0331/592011/big-push-coming-for-a-wwe-diva/
WWE Diva Turning Heel?
There are rumors that Emma will be doing a full heel turn on the main roster.
http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0331/592026/backstage-update-on-wwe-changing-how-the-divas-division-is/
NXT Talent Released
CJ Parker was released from the company this past Saturday. It was reported that Parker reuested the released himself and it was granted on amicable terms.
http://pwinsider.com/article/92745/wwe-nxt-star-gone-from-company.html?p=1
Can Lana actually wrestle? Even at a Diva level?
ReplyDeleteIf a diva turns heel, and no one cares, does she really turn heel?
ReplyDeleteIs Emma gonna turn heel by stealing someone's phone?
ReplyDeleteThat's even more ancient history than the Seth Rollins dick picks.
ReplyDeleteSlapping Bayley wasn't a full heel turn?
ReplyDeleteThat happened on NXT...which, I'm not sure if that's the same as something happening on a House Show, but it's close
ReplyDeleteEmma stole Rollins' dick!?
ReplyDeleteVince's "Huge Plans" for Lana = being his mistress and making out with him on TV?
ReplyDeleteHey guys, check it out! The first trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Ummm...................................................no.
ReplyDelete=D
ReplyDeleteBarking like a dog for him and sitting by his feet while he watches Rusev do pushups?
ReplyDeleteI think the embedding ruined your joke.
ReplyDeleteRick Rolling in the year 2015?
ReplyDeleteYou can't just link to the Astley video, noob. You have to...actually never mind.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a better way for her to get over!
ReplyDeleteBtw, all I see is a HUGE Rick Astley face staring at me under your post. It uh...it didn't work.
ReplyDeleteThat's the joke. It's a blatant April Fools.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh. Kudos, then.
ReplyDeleteThe embedding ruined your FACE.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's right. I went there.
But it's Rick Astley, you guys. Rick Astley!
ReplyDeleteActually, Sheamus in 2012 is the only Rumble winner to win the title since WrestleMania 23,
ReplyDeleteNew NXT superstar, Ric Astly!
ReplyDeleteHere's what Han Solo looks like in The Force Awakens:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cinemablend.com/images/news/66791/_1408121081.jpg
If you think about it, they just lucked into their biggest babyface in years.
ReplyDeleteHe's a legitimate ass-kicker, so Vince loves him. He takes no shit from anyone, so the fans love him. He has great matches, so critics love him. And the fans love Heyman so much now that they'll cheer every slimy thing he says. So essentially you have an amazing worker who can't cut a promo for shit, but has a great manager by his side to do the speaking for him.
Folks, I think Brock's going to save the WWE Network singlehandedly.
The face is hilarious. It's like, "Yep, they paid me a LOT of money to be here."
ReplyDeleteApril fools! that's not real he isn't grumpy enough looking
ReplyDeleteAn easy thing they could do, would be to merge the Rumble with Money in the Bank in that the winner of the Rumble gets a title shot whenever they choose. Ladder matches are getting kind of overdone now anyway.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they should get rid of the stipulation though, I think it is one of their best ideas. The problem the past few years has been the poor booking.
And yet he doesn't believe in the God given right of marriage. But Cena does seem like a catholic thinker though, although he treats his beliefs like a salad bar.
ReplyDeleteThe problem isn't the Rumble giving a guy a WM title shot. The problem is the guy they choose to give the shot to.
ReplyDeleteI'm with the emailer here. Not only is Cena's selflessness to be admired. But so is how secure he is. He'll go out there and demolished by Brock at Summerslam or wrestle in the midcard at Wrestlemania two years in a row and do it like a total pro. Austin would cry a river over shit like that.
ReplyDeleteDammit you're right...shows you what regard I hold that WM and its build in.
ReplyDeleteNeither did Hogan, well outside of the WCW, NWo, and then TNA stints - oh and Voodoo Child or Chile or Chili in his first comeback in 2002. Oh and seeing 61 year old Hogan in the nWo gear fit him so well. Too bad Vince won't let him fight Cena.
ReplyDeleteRock, Austin, and even HHH had runs that are far shorter than Cena's. Cena won his first WWE title at WRESTLEMANIA 21. Even the Hogan error didn't go as long. He can't main event everything forever (even though sometimes it feels that way).
ReplyDeleteHe'll hang out as US Champion for a while and work with some upper mid-carders and then when they need him again they'll just have him five knuckle shuffle back to the title again.
this is true, but also think the era has changed a lot since the time of Austin. The old school mentality of the old era is gone, replaced by the WWE UNIVERSE.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's true. The era of "protecting your spot" seems like a thing of the past. And it's easier for Cena because there's really no true challenger to his spot. Austin had Rock who was better than him and Triple H who was banging the boss's daughter always nipping at his heels.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't agree -- I think the Rumble is prestigious BECAUSE of the title shot and WrestleMania connection. You take that away, and within a few years it's basically the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal or a Bragging Rights multi-person tag match. It's highly promoted and has big names, but ultimately it's meaningless and you're not fighting for anything.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, it's really more a matter of pushing the right guy. If Bryan had won the Rumble last year and everything else had gone the way it did, it would have been one of the greatest Rumble-to-Mania stories in the modern era. Reigns winning this year was a disaster.
The opportunities are certainly there as well to make sure that a super top guy doesn't win every year. The past few years, they've actually done a good job of putting guys who were traditionally in the title match (Cena, Orton, Triple H, Punk, Undertaker, Lesnar, etc.) in high profile non-title matches. They're created a scenario where a new up and comer could win -- it's just a matter of finding and going with the right person.
"The Rumble is prestigious BECAUSE of the title shot and WrestleMania connection. You take that away, and within a few years it's basically the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal or a Bragging Rights multi-person tag match. It's highly promoted and has big names, but ultimately it's meaningless and you're not fighting for anything."
ReplyDeleteThis. The Rumble giving a title shot to the winner must be at least somewhat worth it, because if you take that away, the Rumble goes from a show I check the results of compulsively all night to a show I wait for a recap of later on Monday.
Stick Cena in a Doomsday Cage with 6 members of the Authority and Zeus and Cena might consider going heel. And Bull Buchanan can randomly return and hand them padlock chains.
ReplyDeleteWell I think the problem is less the Rumble and more of their shitty booking. Changing the stakes of the Rumble stip won't help with that. What really needs to happen is either ditch the February PPV altogether or bump the RR to that month.
ReplyDeleteInstead of making the Royal Rumble as meaningless as the ARMBAR, how about having the WWE Champion enter as #30 and defend the title in the Royal Rumble itself? That way winning the Rumble means something, and you have more flexibility in the build to the Mania main event.
ReplyDeleteI think the WWE has for decades now regreted making the whole "Rumble-Winner-Gets-the-Mania-Title-Shot" stipulation, as finding the challenger two months in advance makes for very rigid booking, which forces them to add shenaningans to put intrigue (least we forget, that started as early as 1994, the second year of the stipulation). I think a better solution would be for the Rumble not to be an annual event, and have it every 2 or 3 years.
ReplyDeleteThey need to make the Rumble about something. Even the Andre Battle Royal is for a trophy. You can say money is the big prize for winning the Rumble but we are a long way from the days where they hyped wrestlers fighting for the bigger half of the purse. Just winning the Royal Rumble "for prestige" won't be as interesting.
ReplyDeleteHm...
ReplyDeleteWhat if the plan is to keep using the Legends as Bryan supporters, and John just keeps on doing his thing defending America/destroying monsters but never getting any storyline support? Maybe even some of the midcarders start begrudgingly admitting that Bryan is a great representative of his title, yet no one comes to John's side. That could create an interesting dynamic/promos when they finally get a unification match. Like, you'd have two good guys, one who is supported by his peers, the other is doing heavy lifting but not getting any praise.
Sorry, crazy stream of consciousness booking. Ignore the crazy person.
I love to cover my beliefs in cheese, French dressing, and croutons as well.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the US title open challenge. There are plenty of mid and upper-mid carders that he can work with that keeps him on TV and elevates the title.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I thought Austin did win the IC title after he was World champ as part of the two man power trip?
ReplyDeleteTurning it into a de facto TV title that keeps Cena busy isn't a bad idea at all
ReplyDeleteDidnt Pat Patterson win the 1987 Rumble held down in Rio?
ReplyDelete" He's the #1 guy no matter what title he holds or where on the card his match is."
ReplyDeleteTHIS. The champion makes the belt, not the other way around. This will be an interesting experiment to see how well the US title will be treated now that Cena has it.
Within 3 - 4 months the US title will be held in higher regard than the IC title based off of it being on Cena.
That was Triple H.
ReplyDeleteBret did something similar when he was IC champ and he had matches with everyone. And I don't think people will have a problem with him doing his tired moveset to the Zack Ryders of the world.
ReplyDeleteLike I said before, why are people so hell bent in unifying the IC and US titles?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't even have to do it the same night, they could have it so the Rumble winner gets a title shot at the Fastlane (or whatever they call it next year) PPV. Not only does that give more flexibility the booking but also gives that PPV an actual purpose rather than just getting in the way (or being used as a way of digging themselves out of a hole)
ReplyDeleteHow about a title shot at the PPV inbetween Rumble and Mania? That means that PPV has more of a feel of importance, the Rumble still gives the winner a chance of headlining at Wrestlemania, but vitally it also gives more flexibility to the booking and gives the WWE chance to take the Rumble winner away from the main event of Mania is the crowd turn on the idea, or if it just isn't working.
ReplyDeleteI think this would take away from the prestige of both the Rumble and WrestleMania. It's still something special that a guy has to go through 29 other superstars in order to earn a spot in the main event of the biggest show of the year. That build has worked so many times for both heels and faces.
ReplyDeleteIn the last two years, WWE has been limited by their own stupidity--not by a lack of options. And as we continue into the part-timer era, WWE can still afford to have an underdog win the Royal Rumble and make his way into the championship match while the company gives us other Mania matches with Rock, Triple H, Lesnar, etc.
Because 99% of the time, at least one of the belts is treated like garbage.
ReplyDeleteIf one of the champs is booked to always lose (or barely appear on TV in the first place), then there's no point in the belt. At best, we'd get one belt that is treated with some importance, and at worst, at least we'd get only one belt and champion being booked like garbage instead of two.
This very moment isn't the time to do it, but it could (and, IMO, should) have been done plenty of times over the last ten years.
I'd have to imagine the differencs in contracts from then to now is part of it, too - guys make a guaranteed amount no matter where they are on the card.
ReplyDeleteI agree. They should put the title shot for the February pay per view.
ReplyDeleteDont judge others. Let God do that. Jeez, you suck at this religious stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure not turning has A LOT to do with his huge merchandising royalties right now.
ReplyDeleteSo HHH won the IC title after being World champ? That works as well.
ReplyDeletePerfect summation.
ReplyDeleteIf they try to stack WrestleMania 32 with special attraction matches, HOFers, adn celebrities, next year would be the perfect year to use the Rumble as a springboard for a young guy such as Zayn, Owens, Balor, or any other NXT stud for a shot at the title.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have the top names to sell tickets, and the Smart favorites to create the atmosphere and reactions.
To use one of Scott's favorite phrases, I don't think you can put the toothpaste back in the tube. For over a decade, it's been used as the ultimate (kayfabe) stepping stone to show that you're not only the clear #1 contender, but the clear #1 contender that gets to strut their stuff at biggest show of the year - the position that everyone else on the roster wishes they were in.
ReplyDeleteRemoving the stip just seems like it would make the match (and PPV as a whole) far less prestigious and popular. Sure, they could play with the formula once in a while, such as the champ being forced to defend their title in the match itself one year, stuff like that, but I think a permanent change would really be a bad business move.
Its's not the stipulation that's the problem, it's all the other poor booking around it.