Yeah, Punk could easily spin the Nexus beating him up as a way of deflecting attention from himself. The last thing most people would expect is someone (originally) from Smackdown being behind the Nexus, and yet, it makes a lot of sense. Punk was a pro on NXT1 and was on Smackdown at the time. Why would Punk have a group with no regard for anyone that he secretly controls on the same show as him? Eventually their paths would cross.
[quote name='TheRock88']There's only one reason why Punk assaulted Cena tonight
Cena spilled his diet soda.
[/QUOTE]
I honestly thought that was going to be the reasoning Punk was going for.
Nexus is done and over with, but if they throw Punk into this, it will be that Punk decided to take control. Not some crappy "higher power" angle. At least, I sincerely hope not.
[quote name='mykevermin']I think I saw Tommy Dreamer going to the Comcast offices in south Philly this morning. Didn't say hi though.[/QUOTE]
B-b-but...former ECW champeen!
How far in advance do you think WWE Creative books anymore? Pure hearsay, but the legend was McMahon used to have 6 months of storylines booked out in advance. Right now I'd be amazed if they have had any discussions about what they're going to do for Raw in 2 weeks, and I can assure you they have no idea what they're going to do with Nexus. Leave it up to Creative to take one of the hottest angles of the year and turn it into a liability ("well, Cena killed them all dead, so *now* what do we do with them?").
I also think it's telling that ratings for WWE programs were pretty much consistent with themselves during the whole Cena was fired storyline. Nobody turned out when he was "gone," and nobody tuned back in when he came 'back.' That WWE would settle for flat, consistent ratings is indicative of a major institutional problem with wrestling booking right now.
Anyone see WWE's Top 25 Matches of the Year list yet? Taker/HBK and Danielson/Ziggler are tied for 1st right now. So they have a poll to vote on which match should be number one.
Jericho/Goldust and Jericho/Danielson also made it on to the list. Glad to see the Goldust one on there as it was really good, so I'm happy it wasn't forgotten about since it was on Superstars.
[quote name='mykevermin']How far in advance do you think WWE Creative books anymore? Pure hearsay, but the legend was McMahon used to have 6 months of storylines booked out in advance. Right now I'd be amazed if they have had any discussions about what they're going to do for Raw in 2 weeks, and I can assure you they have no idea what they're going to do with Nexus. Leave it up to Creative to take one of the hottest angles of the year and turn it into a liability ("well, Cena killed them all dead, so *now* what do we do with them?").
I also think it's telling that ratings for WWE programs were pretty much consistent with themselves during the whole Cena was fired storyline. Nobody turned out when he was "gone," and nobody tuned back in when he came 'back.' That WWE would settle for flat, consistent ratings is indicative of a major institutional problem with wrestling booking right now.[/QUOTE]
I'm thinking they book only to the next PPV. There's no long-term vision at all.
Fun Raw tonight, I guess. Daniel Bryan/Regal was excellent aside from the quick tapout, and I was surprised at the non-squash match between Ziggler and Cena.
By the way, is Ziggler just using all of DX's old finishers now?
The finish to Wade Barrett-John Cena from the TLC PPV is one of the worst damn things I have seen WWE do in recent times--and that includes the Edge-kidnaps-Paul-Bearer segments.
I appreciate the spectacle of the falling chairs spot, but it makes no sense. As someone mentioned, WWE has a history of having no damn idea of how to handle heel factions. Nexus has been a good idea. Cena singlehandedly disassembling Nexus has to be one of the worst enacted ideas in years.
I expected more from today's WWE.
---
I do agree that WWE Creative seems to only have a plan for booking for just three to four weeks to the next PPV.
---
'Glad to hear that last night's Raw had been a fun show. I'm watching it now. The mock Christmas Carol opening is surprisingly not too campy.
I'm delighted that they mentioned how John Morrison is the new number one contender for Miz's WWE championship.
Update 1: Oh here's Morrison.
Update 2: Morrison works better as a heel.
Update 3: The rumored Melina heel turn has happened. Neat. Melina also cut her hair pretty short. Wonder if that'll be added to the angle with Nat.
Update 4: Regal-Danielson? I love it. If I ran WWE, I'd attempt to get the younger audience to love pro wrestling. Vince can label WWE what ever he wants: It's pro wrestling. And I truly do hate the Bellas intrusion into Danielson's push. I honestly think WWE included the Bellas because they share a part of the name of Danielson's latest finisher. (Bellas and LeBell.) If I hear "LeBella lock", I'm going to riot.
Update 5: Mark Henry and Gail Kim. What the heck? Gail's not a fat white woman... And Gail's still employed? Huh.
Update 6: "...and I know Maryse and Ted DiBiase are boyfriend and girlfriend." Good-ing-god, Cole. Just no.
Update 7: So, no more CM Punk on commentary? I would be sad. Punk has a point, though, and it's as we have discussed. What logic is there in cheering for a face who does things that a heel would do? I'm interested to see where this Punk-Cena story heads.
I remember reading somewhere about Nexus getting their start in FCW and after reading some criticism today about how they weren't used properly, I looked up FCW on Youtube. At first, I was surprised to see so many familiar faces and then realized they're kind of a training ground for WWE. Its a shame that so much is lost in the transition from FCW to the WWE. FCW seems pretty cool thus far, I mean, the two matches I've seen online have seemed pretty cool. Anyone else watch FCW?
[quote name='Chase']
Update 7: So, no more CM Punk on commentary? I would be sad. Punk has a point, though, and it's as we have discussed. What logic is there in cheering for a face who does things that a heel would do? I'm interested to see where this Punk-Cena story heads.[/QUOTE]
I think they would just ruin it with the usual Cena stomping face at whatever pay per view they have. But yes i do agree, im a sad panda not being able to hear punk on commentary anymore. It was the antidote to Micheal Cole...although i do like Josh Matthews as his counter part because of the jabbing the goes on between them.
but on another note,I cant stop to think every time i see Dolph Ziggler i just want to yell out
I saw this custom tron and thought it was pretty cool. I normally hate chopped and screwed shit, but it makes Orton's theme more sinister IMO. The vid edits are nice too.
[quote name='GuilewasNK']I saw this custom tron and thought it was pretty cool. I normally hate chopped and screwed shit, but it makes Orton's theme more sinister IMO. The vid edits are nice too.
[/quote]
It's weird how much it sounds like Orton's singing his own music when it's slowed down like that.
[quote name='Chase']
Update 7: So, no more CM Punk on commentary? I would be sad. Punk has a point, though, and it's as we have discussed. What logic is there in cheering for a face who does things that a heel would do? [/QUOTE]
This does fit into Punk's history. He has the right ideals, it's just that he takes the heels way to show them.
I'm interested to see where this Punk-Cena story heads.
You know damn well how it's going to end. Punk will get squashed time and time again. Mysterio and Big Show had their fun at Punk's expense and now Cena wants in on that.
Update 5: Mark Henry and Gail Kim. What the heck? Gail's not a fat white woman
[quote name='mogamer'] You know damn well how it's going to end. Punk will get squashed time and time again. Mysterio and Big Show had their fun at Punk's expense and now Cena wants in on that.[/QUOTE]
On that note, though, it does at least seem as if Punk is someone who is fairly immune to losing his heat. Like you said, Mysterio and Show didn't make him look great, but he was consistently over the whole time.
I'd imagine the same will happen with Cena, or at least I'm hoping. There is huge potential in Cena/Punk, and I'm curious to see what they do with it. The first good sign is that they've actually sowed the seeds of this for two weeks without completely blowing their wad yet, which is a nice change of pace.
I'm just trying to be optimistic about this. Sure, in the end Cena will emerge victorious. It's what he does. I'm just having faith that Punk will make the bulk of the storyline workable. Also, WWE has shown a lot of Punk backing with this announce gig, which I'm hopeful translates into him getting some leeway in this.
Either way, if it's something that keeps Cena way from the belt, I'll take it.
[quote name='mykevermin']How far in advance do you think WWE Creative books anymore? Pure hearsay, but the legend was McMahon used to have 6 months of storylines booked out in advance. Right now I'd be amazed if they have had any discussions about what they're going to do for Raw in 2 weeks, and I can assure you they have no idea what they're going to do with Nexus. Leave it up to Creative to take one of the hottest angles of the year and turn it into a liability ("well, Cena killed them all dead, so *now* what do we do with them?").
I also think it's telling that ratings for WWE programs were pretty much consistent with themselves during the whole Cena was fired storyline. Nobody turned out when he was "gone," and nobody tuned back in when he came 'back.' That WWE would settle for flat, consistent ratings is indicative of a major institutional problem with wrestling booking right now.[/QUOTE]
In Jericho's book (great book!) he mentions how when he was in WCW he went to Vince's mansion and he saw JR, Vince, and someone else just sitting there....booking shit all the way up to WrestleMania....
And he was in awe, because they let someone who wasn't even apart of WWF see exactly what they had planned so far in the future. That's beyond some "sitting with the enemy" shit...that's "I just thought of the best idea ever...and I'm going to share it with the enemy knowing he ain't going to say shit about it" shit
So yea, it's true. I would have loved to sat there w/Vince and 'em just to see their logic behind all of that. Booking stuff 3, 4, 6+ months in advance.
I think they book on the fly now though. If they did this even a month in advance....they all need to be fired! None of this shit makes sense dammit!!!!!
Like a Nexus free Raw....we only got two options now:
1) The SUPREME leader shows
2) Nexus as a whole just got squashed harder than Spirit Squad
And I can't be the only person who noticed Vicki booked Cena to a match on a show he doesn't belong on. Assuming consistency was even possible (use your imagination!) Cena could easily just go "....I don't work for you, so I'm not showing up...."
I'll love some shit like that. A wrestler being forced into a match on another brand going "....I'm on Raw...not SD...so you have to pay me extra or entice me to show up...."
You know though, without Nexus, the show last night was pretty decent. Nexus brought absolutely nothing to the table. Outside of Barrett and maybe Gabriel, Nexus is a faction of jobbers with little mic and in-ring skills whose only reason to exist was to push Wade Barrett. As much as I hate "Super" Cena, it didn't bother me all that much last night when he squashed them. Those guys can all vanish to the depths of FCW for all I care.
I wouldn't even think Creative books fully a month in advance anymore. How many times have we complained about matches being added or changed to PPVs a week beforehand. While nobody is necessarily complaining about the additions, Rey and Del Rio being put in the Edge Vs Kane match proves my point.
Anyway, as for Nexus/Cena/Dolph/Punk... I'm surprised no one mentioned that we'll probably see some kind of continuation of the storyline on SD tonight. WWE definitely knows that SD has nobody which is why they are throwing Cena and Miz onto the show. I wouldn't be surprised if they just throw some Raw storyline on there also. After another back and forth match, Dolph ends up beating Cena due to some kind of interference from Nexus or Punk. Not only does it continue Cena's direction, it helps build Dolph up as the Miz of Smackdown. Think about it, he's been the IC champ for quite a while now. He's been quietly putting up some good matches. He even has a mouthpiece with him that can garner the best heat WWE has seen in forever. You know what, I'll even go out on a limb here and say he'll be either WWE champ or World Heavyweight champ sometime next year, or at the very least be in the main event picture. He's definitely gonna be in the Money In the Bank match so maybe there's his entry way.
The thing is, Nexus was put over HUUUUUGE the first night they came out. WWE failed to capitalize on that.
What? They're horrible workers? Some of them aren't great, but it's not like they forced that Cottonwood motherer into the group. WWE has pushed *plenty* of dudes with little wrestling skill into the stratosphere. With Nexus, the central figure in the group (Barrett) does have ring prowess as well as phenomenal mic skills.
You can justify the plunge of Nexus on the talent of the group, but that's simply illogical, given who WWE does and does not push. If it were about in-ring skill, the company would look very different over the years.
So question on topic. Nexus reinvigorated my interest to the extent that I went to my first show in a long time, just to see the follow-up after the attack that one night when Bryan got fired.
The angle got screwed up, obviously, but how would you guys have had it played it out?
I always expected HBK to be the higher power, since it'd explain McMahon and Hart's attacks, as well as Undertaker's, and would tie in nicely with Bryan's training by him. I'd figure Cole was some kind of red-herring, and I hoped the higher plan all along was a unification of the WWE and WHC belts.
I also figured that Cena would turn heel and have Miz as a new age anti-hero face, and you know, it be interesting. But alas, it's the WWE. So what do you guys think would have been a better way for the story to play out?
I don't think they needed a higher power. They represented a 'youth movement' in WWE, a changing of the guards, so to speak (like Hulk v Andre at WMIII). How to book them? Have them dominate their opponents.
Wasn't Evolution the main heel faction where Michael Cole began to ridiculously overuse the phrase "NUMBERS GAME" during their matches? So if Orton was wrestling, you still had to contend with HHH, Flair, and Batista. So double the numbers and halve (quarter?) the talent and fan perception, but still push them. The Four Horsemen didn't get over because they got beat up every week. Justin Gabriel shouldn't be perceived as someone who can beat, say, Randy Orton one-on-one. But similarly, if he has Otunga, Tarver, Slater, and the other guys in his corner, he shouldn't be perceived as able to lose. When he does (I guess they had a match at some point), it undercuts the entire group - and they go from threatening force to keystone kops.
I suspect WWE thinks that, since Cena was "fired," that was a means of Nexus getting over at Cena's expense. But the Cena-as-servant storyline was so rushed, and the things he had to do pretty uneventful ("get me a glass of water") that, from my perspective, I never really felt like Cena was struggling against anything. That's the main problem: he never seems to be at risk, and that's his problem (i.e., it's not that he's a company man or a merchandise whore).
Cena joined Nexus, was fired and rehired in a span of 10 weeks (as of early October). That is storytelling at *far* to fast a clip. He should have remained a member of Nexus and been put in much more strenuous situations for at least 7-10 weeks alone, and that's just the first third of that story arc. Make fans believe he's never going to figure a way to get out of it.
Part of crucial storytelling is suspense, but WWE doesn't give us time to feel suspense at all, because at that point they've already moved on to the next point in the overall arc. We never really believed Cena was going to stay with Nexus that long, and his 'firing' was, IMO, the worst storyline of the year. Kane murdering Paul Bearer and not being charged with manslaughter (or, if he lived, attempted manslaughter) comes close. But for Edge and Kane, I just feel bad for those two. The storyline is bee-aye-double-dee bad, but they're just uninteresting characters at this point whose matches aren't fun to watch. Cena/Nexus was a repeated series of both magnificently wasted opportunities combined with intelligence-insulting writing.
Let me summarize by paraphrasing Bill Hicks bit on porn stars (. . . my girlfriend hated those porno movies. . . . I'll be watching one, she'll come home: "That woman's not enjoyin' that. She is not enjoyin' that." I'm going: "Well, honey, she's got a pretty big grin on her face and we know she's not a good actress."), while WWE likes to think they're hiring 'hollywood' television and film writers to fill Creative, we know by virtue of their accepting a job with WWE that they're not good writers.
Hopefully Taker/Shawn doesn't win by a landslide. If Bryan/Dolph gets enough votes, maybe WWE might start thinking people like wrasslin for what it is.
[quote name='Tybalt Flux']So question on topic. Nexus reinvigorated my interest... The angle got screwed up, obviously, but how would you guys have had it played it out?
I also figured that Cena would turn heel and have Miz as a new age anti-hero face, and you know, it be interesting. But alas, it's the WWE. So what do you guys think would have been a better way for the story to play out?[/QUOTE]
Nexus had been one of WWE's better ideas in years. I had clamored for a possible Cena heel turn and Miz face turn, but, yes, WWE didn't take the risk. (Which, I think, wasn't much of a risk at all. Cena is embedded into today's audience, and could have apologized and, once again, become WWE's face poster child.)
[quote name='mykevermin']What? They're horrible workers? Some of them aren't great, but it's not like they forced that Cottonwood motherer into the group. WWE has pushed *plenty* of dudes with little wrestling skill into the stratosphere. With Nexus, the central figure in the group (Barrett) does have ring prowess as well as phenomenal mic skills.
You can justify the plunge of Nexus on the talent of the group, but that's simply illogical, given who WWE does and does not push. If it were about in-ring skill, the company would look very different over the years.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I agree. Nexus had a lot of potential. Wade Barrett is a gem that WWE has done little to polish and push towards prominence. The push they gave Barrett felt halfhearted and disingenuous. Tarver and Otunga could have made for a decent tag team. Sheffield had the misfortune of sustaining an injury, but that shouldn't have mattered too much.
I fail to see the logic in pairing up Gabriel and Slater, other than to push as voiceless Nexus goons. Gabriel and Slater possess decent mic skill, but definitely would have better off with a manager. What's Maxine, from NXT, doing? (This serves as a reminder of how WWE has lost touch with the art of managers.)
Now, Nexus has Joe Hennig (who actually has better mic skill than he showed in his dreadful NXT speech) and the better Rotunda brother (who is even better in WWE than he was in FCW).
Nexus is comprised of WWE's future, and they just kept burying them, and with one person to boot (John Cena). Sorta makes me hopeful for a Triple H return so he can, legitimately, bury John Cena (like he did in a promo years ago). (And I know it's not entirely John Cena's fault for being the ultimate company man, but he could have done something. It's not like he's Zack Ryder or Todd Grisham.)
[quote name='Chronis']I'll even go out on a limb here and say he'll be either WWE champ or World Heavyweight champ sometime next year, or at the very least be in the main event picture. He's definitely gonna be in the Money In the Bank match so maybe there's his entry way.[/QUOTE]
I could see Dolph Ziggler winning Money In The Bank and gaining a title shot through that avenue.
However! I would prefer to see WWE have Dolph enter the Royal Rumble at number one, then allow Dolph to legitimately earn a title shot. The rub Ziggler would gain by pulling a Shawn Michaels would greater benefit him than an ADD, quick-fix MITB title injection.
[quote name='mogamer']You know damn well how it's going to end. Punk will get squashed time and time again. Mysterio and Big Show had their fun at Punk's expense and now Cena wants in on that.
That's a borderline racist remark. You should have gone all the way and mention fat, white and blonde.[/QUOTE]
I hope they, miraculously, put over Punk. ( Somehow. But, hot damn, have they really made CM Punk the bitch of WWE's cash-cows.
And, hehehe, you're right. I forgot "blonde."
[quote name='mykevermin']I don't think they needed a higher power. They represented a 'youth movement' in WWE, a changing of the guards, so to speak (like Hulk v Andre at WMIII). How to book them? Have them dominate their opponents.
Wasn't Evolution the main heel faction...
where Michael Cole began to ridiculously overuse the phrase "NUMBERS GAME" during their matches? So if Orton was wrestling, you still had to contend with HHH, Flair, and Batista. So double the numbers and halve (quarter?) the talent and fan perception, but still push them. The Four Horsemen didn't get over because they got beat up every week. Justin Gabriel shouldn't be perceived as someone who can beat, say, Randy Orton one-on-one. But similarly, if he has Otunga, Tarver, Slater, and the other guys in his corner, he shouldn't be perceived as able to lose. When he does (I guess they had a match at some point), it undercuts the entire group - and they go from threatening force to keystone kops.
I suspect WWE thinks that, since Cena was "fired," that was a means of Nexus getting over at Cena's expense. But the Cena-as-servant storyline was so rushed, and the things he had to do pretty uneventful ("get me a glass of water") that, from my perspective, I never really felt like Cena was struggling against anything. That's the main problem: he never seems to be at risk, and that's his problem (i.e., it's not that he's a company man or a merchandise whore).
Cena joined Nexus, was fired and rehired in a span of 10 weeks (as of early October). That is storytelling at *far* to fast a clip. He should have remained a member of Nexus and been put in much more strenuous situations for at least 7-10 weeks alone, and that's just the first third of that story arc. Make fans believe he's never going to figure a way to get out of it.
Part of crucial storytelling is suspense, but WWE doesn't give us time to feel suspense at all, because at that point they've already moved on to the next point in the overall arc. We never really believed Cena was going to stay with Nexus that long, and his 'firing' was, IMO, the worst storyline of the year. Kane murdering Paul Bearer and not being charged with manslaughter (or, if he lived, attempted manslaughter) comes close. But for Edge and Kane, I just feel bad for those two. The storyline is bee-aye-double-dee bad, but they're just uninteresting characters at this point whose matches aren't fun to watch. Cena/Nexus was a repeated series of both magnificently wasted opportunities combined with intelligence-insulting writing.
Let me summarize by paraphrasing Bill Hicks bit on porn stars (. . . my girlfriend hated those porno movies. . . . I'll be watching one, she'll come home: "That woman's not enjoyin' that. She is not enjoyin' that." I'm going: "Well, honey, she's got a pretty big grin on her face and we know she's not a good actress."), while
... WWE likes to think they're hiring 'hollywood' television and film writers to fill Creative, we know by virtue of their accepting a job with WWE that they're not good writers.[/QUOTE]
I hate truncating your excellent, spot-on post, Myke, but this post of mine is pretty lengthy, and I want to address some things you said.
WWE hiring Hollywood writers is like TNA hiring WWE wrestlers: You know who they're hiring is probably at a bottom of their career and won't help a bit.
WWE's idea of suspense is having John Cena in peril, at the mercy of Nexus, for a couple weeks. And in those couple weeks, all Cena did was fetch some water and begrudgingly wear a tee shirt. Now, I'm not saying WWE should have gone to the extreme and have Nexus run a train all over Cena, but fetching water just didn't draw out any tangible emotion.
I agree that WWE should have booked Nexus to look like, ahem, 'superstars', and certainly should not job them as often as they have. WWE headed in the right direction by having Gabriel and Slater win the tag straps, though it should have been Hennig and Rotunda, while Gabriel and Slater captured, or battled, for the U.S. and Intercontinental titles, respectively. (Gabriel could play an anti-American card, and claim the U.S. belt in the same of South Africa. Crowds eat that shit, willingly, and with a large spoon.) Slater, well, he's sort of the, ahem, red-headed stepchild of the group. Decent look, decent skill, and substandard mic skill. I see no reason why he couldn't, at least, draw X-Pac heat if WWE had heavy-handedly booked him to win over and over again. Otunga should have been paired with Tarver, and both should have escorted Slater and Gabriel to matches, so afterwards they could help Slater and Gabriel cut a half-decent promo.
WWE takes two steps forward (pushing younger talent, implementing good ideas) then five steps back (halfheartedly pushing younger talent, unwillingness to let Cena show any real sense of vulnerability--which faces should show, jobbing out members of a supposed strong new faction, having no real direction for some of their better ideas, etc.).
I mean, case in point, Danielson and the Bellas. Essentially, on some level, WWE is using Danielson as a tool to turn one of the Bellas into a heel. I would nix the Bellas, as Punk has justifiably openly mocked, and use Danielson as a platform to turn on the "Wow, I love good matches/pro wrestling" switch in younger fans. Yeah, yeah, I know: WWE dislikes any relation to the name "pro wrestling." But, for 's sake, they're a pro wrestling company. A sports entertainment-style pro wrestling company.
, one of the most significant MMA fighters in MMA history, Kazushi Sakuraba often lists his style as "pro wrestling." If WWE really wants a piece of the MMA pie, they should promote their company as "pro wrestling" and not "sports entertainment." I'm not saying WWE should go all Antonio Inoki and integrate a lot of MMA into their ring work, but, god damn it, they shouldn't be embarrassed about being properly labeled.
*(Pardon any grammatical errors, poorly-constructed paragraphs, etc. I'm a little under-the-weather, though alive enough to get real ire burning in my fire pit. Wait-- What did I just say...)
Gabriel should be a face on Smackdown for a while. I'd kinda put him in the same boat as Morrison - women think he's hot, kids/guys like him for his in ring skills, and he can't really talk that well. Let him build off of that. I'm betting he could have good matches with Swagger,Ziggler and Del Rio.
myke, everything you said about Nexus is correct. They weren't handled right, WWE has pushed worse guys and creative isn't very. But I still don't miss those guys. And I'm sure Barrett will still be a part of the main event. But two wrongs don't make a right. Yes, they've pushed crap guys before, but that doesn't mean that they have to push this group of crap guys now, does it? And let's be honest, don't you really think that the only reason Nexus was created was to push Barrett and Bryan (and maybe Otunga, uggh).
Although it may sound like I'm a WWE lackey, I'm really not. Maybe Nexus was handled so poorly that I'm glad they're going away.
[quote name='Chronis']Hopefully Taker/Shawn doesn't win by a landslide. If Bryan/Dolph gets enough votes, maybe WWE might start thinking people like wrasslin for what it is.[/QUOTE]
I know that we're all supposed to love Bryan, and I like seeing Dolph and Swagger when they're allowed off the 4-minute TV-match leash, but I don't see how Taker/Shawn should be outside the realm of "wrasslin for what it is".
It might, with the drama, the big stage, the old-school motivations and desires, the storyline and the in-ring action itself, be the most "wrasslin for what it is" on the whole list.
What bothers me is that I think WWE creative nows EXACTLY what they're doing. No matter how talentless the writers are, and they are, mind you, there's enough wrestlers to balance it out.
I mean, look at Michael Cole during the Bryan-NXT days. He delivered some pretty good interchanges with Bryan. HHH know when to put people over (like he did, with Shelton, a while ago), but the company just refuses to pull the trigger. The only time you get decent matches, it's from people in a position to carry the authority to do so- Cena, HHH, HBK, Undertaker.
The company DOESN'T have to pull the trigger for the IWC, they just like giving the actual fans enough water to keep them alive. Otherwise, Cena + animosity = $. I mean, there's a reason the company stayed afloat despite giving Cena v. Orton for 8 times or whatever.
I think creative likes to toy with ideas, but once things get shaky, I agree, they feel that they'd rather play it safe and stick with Cena. Then add in some minority representation, toiler humor, and a Justin Beiber or other current pop joke, and you have the company.
You can't blame them- they're making money. And, after all, it is a business. Michael Bay's movies might be criticized, but if there's a willing demographic, it's their fault as much as the consumer's.
Bragging Rights was their first (and best?) of the three matches, so whatever the date of that PPV was, their Raw match was the very next night, and SD that same week.
Strongpimphand, Darren Young had a match with Zack Ryder on last week's Superstars. He cut his troll fro, and looks a bit more weird without it.
Tybalt Flux, I agree with the logic behind saying that there is a reason for why WWE has survived while other companies have fallen. Vince McMahon, and company, have apparently figured out how to keep the company profitable in tougher times.
Just how risky would it be to take more risks with the product? How much risk is involved in turning John Cena to heel or allowing newer names to win wars against tenured talent?
I still fail to understand how jobbing out Low Ki, who younger audiences could definitely rally behind, is good for the company. MVP left WWE for a reason, and I think we can assume it's because of how WWE handles their talent. MVP himself is a total package. He can work real well, has a good blend of WWE's style and better styles, and is an excellent speaker. I still find it baffling how they kept him as a lower-card worker. He's marketable, which is probably high in WWE's qualifications list.
Diddy, Gabriel definitely needs to work on his speaking. I think Morrison is great as a stone-faced heel. He performed that gimmick most excellently. Morrison doesn't work for me as a face. He's infinitely less interesting as a face. But, I guess he's more marketable as a face.
I'd love to see WWE resurrect the Cruiserweight division. Put all of the smaller guys in the division, and see who deserves to put pushed to the United States or Intercontinental titles. Low Ki, Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne), Richie Steamboat, Alex Koslov (Peter Orlov), Yoshitatsu, Trent Baretta, Curt Hawkins, Tyson Kidd, Chavo Jr., Joey Mercury, and whoever else.
Do you think Gabriel will get more of a push than Sydal? Unlike Sydal, Gabriel breaks that 6-foot barrier. I'd give Gabriel a "Fallen Angel" type gimmick, and have him be a part of a faction with Tyler Black and CM Punk.
I think MVP actually touched on it himself (or I could just be incorrectly remembering who said it), that his criminal background is a tough thing to bust through when it comes to his success. He obviously can't travel everywhere because of it, obviously.
I think there was also talk about pushing him, but his background made it tough to push him as a face.
[quote name='Mr. Beef']I think MVP actually touched on it himself (or I could just be incorrectly remembering who said it), that his criminal background is a tough thing to bust through when it comes to his success. He obviously can't travel everywhere because of it, obviously.
I think there was also talk about pushing him, but his background made it tough to push him as a face.[/QUOTE]
Except they were pushing him so hard early on it hurt. Remember how he was always in the private boxes getting hyped up? His criminal background had nothing to do with anything back then. It wasn't even known to most fans.
Oh, horseshit. Straight up ing horseshit. Not that I don't believe that's WWE's nonsensical reasoning, mind you.
But overcoming a felony conviction has been done before in *real* sports, let alone phony sports. Michael Vick has been overcoming his conviction lately, though some people won't ever look past what he did.
But, FFS, look at Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. His life story of drug abuse and wasted opportunities became a *selling point* for him. I was in attendance during his MLB debut a few years ago, and the story of how he overcame drugs and addiction to get back to MLB had a crowd of ultra conservative Cincinnati heads cheering for him and how inspiring he was.
I think WWE should have done more to capitalize on MVP's felony background. Besides, isn't every black dude in the company from "the streets" anyway?
Is that the takeaway? Overcoming the background MVP did is not something they want to bring up, but let's trot out Cryme Tyme like a 21st Century minstrel show!
Beef, I know that MVP's criminal past hinders some of his travel. As Myke said, it's bologna that MVP's criminal past is the reason why WWE wouldn't push him. MVP could give others inspiration by WWE showing how hard he's worked to fix his life. I think even kids could understand MVP's tale. However, apparently, older-than-30-years-old white guys in fancy suits sitting in comfy chairs believe otherwise.
In what other present media, like the Street Fighter series or parody videos on YouTube, do we still see such strong stereotypes? For instance, in WWE, Cryme Tyme and Santino.
You know, this MVP talk makes me think, in regards to new talent/taking chances.
Maybe this is just Occham's razor. Maybe they're just a bunch of ignorant, racist, stubborn individuals, pushing the same beefy men for homoerotic reasons.
The one anamoly that always gets me is Brian Hendrick, and the fact that supposedly, he asked Vince to not ostracize him for some screw-up when the Vince-gets-killed angle happened, and he got the 'The' angle, and was seemingly headlning before pot-heading himself out of the business. Talk about a wasted chance to set an example for everyone else and maybe get rookies an edge in the door via good behavior/a model for others.
Donte Stallworth killed a man and he still plays in the NFL.
I'm actually surprised they didn't take advantage of MVP's real life story when they tried to do it with Shelton Benjamin and it was used to bury Booker T in his feud with Triple H.
[quote name='Tybalt Flux']You know, this MVP talk makes me think, in regards to new talent/taking chances.
Maybe this is just Occham's razor. Maybe they're just a bunch of ignorant, racist, stubborn individuals, pushing the same beefy men for homoerotic reasons.
The one anamoly that always gets me is Brian Hendrick, and the fact that supposedly, he asked Vince to not ostracize him for some screw-up when the Vince-gets-killed angle happened, and he got the 'The' angle, and was seemingly headlning before pot-heading himself out of the business. Talk about a wasted chance to set an example for everyone else and maybe get rookies an edge in the door via good behavior/a model for others.[/QUOTE]
That was Paul London who smiled during the Vince car explosion iirc.
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I watched a shoot with London and Kendrick once and they were both unbelievable douches. They basically sat and (drunkenly) cried about how unfairly they were treated and were trashing Vince and the Undertaker and anyone else they could pass the blame onto for their own bad decisions and 5-year-old-girl attitudes. If it's any solace, no amount of talent in the world was going to save their WWE careers. Kendrick is a guy who didn't care about his job enough to pass a piss test, then he blamed everyone for it but himself. To say he "wasted" a chance to lead by example implies he ever had that capability to begin with.
ing-god, Cole. Just no.
( Somehow. But, hot damn, have they really made CM Punk the bitch of WWE's cash-cows.
