The "Dem Boys" Briscoe Brothers Wrestling Thread

Storyline update for Nash. I thought last night was a career send-off match, but apparently not:

"With the impact of the sledgehammer, Kevin sustained multiple contusions over his body. Of most significance was a nasal fracture he sustained when he was struck in the face by the implement.”

WWE's website says Nash will be out of action for at least six weeks and during that time, he will likely have to wear a brace to protect his nose.
Click to expand...

Also,

After last night's WWE TLC pay-per-view ended, CM Punk continued to celebrate before interacting more with the fans at ringside. Punk passed Lilian Garcia and put the other end of the handcuff he had on his arm onto her arm. Punk smiled and led Lilian backstage by the cuff.
Click to expand...

DB's tweet:

"Six years ago CM Punk and I wrestled a 45 minute match in Florida in front of probably 36 people. It’s fun watching us pretend to be superstars when we’re really just a couple of Indy schmucks."
Click to expand...

HEY GUYS DID YOU KNOW DEMOLITION MAN WAS ONE OF THOSE 36 PEOPLE?!
 
I firmly believe Punk will be the WWE title match at Mania unless things *really* go down the shitter in the next two months, causing Vince to hotshot the belt into Cena/Rock. Of all of the things WWE has ignored, they really do seem to see how over Punk is. In regards to Orton... I don't know. He's over huge, but they've actually given him fairly shit matches for the past two Manias. By shit, I mean pretty damn irrelevant and far removed from any kind of title picture. I'm sort of shocked to just realize that Orton hasn't had a title match at WM since WM25. Huh.

At the end of the day, though, let's be honest... the WWE title and WHC aren't headlining WM. The winner of the Rumble doesn't get to headline WM. I assure you that on WWE's booking sheet, the listing reads 1) Cena/Rock, 2) HHH/Taker 3) Everything else. It's a big part of why I'm about 50/50 excited about Mania... my one small hope is that some cool things skate by in the WWE title and WHC matches simply because they *aren't* the focus of the show.

Dream booking? Danielson holds onto the belt until Mania and faces Royal Rumble winner Dolph Ziggler. It won't happen, but I'd fucking kill for a Danielson/Ziggler match at WM.
 
If you already have this Austin DVD:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vWGporPVL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Is it worth getting this Austin DVD:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510dbsPmqsL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I know the documentary is new, and there's an extra DVD so obviously more content, I guess I was worried about to much repeating content from the older DVD.

I don't follow wrestling now, nor care about recent events in wrestling if that makes a difference.

Thanks for anyone who can give a quick comment, lengthly breakdown isn't necessary. Thanks again.
 
From Punk's twitter page. This image gives me hope for the future of the business
AhEjpnVCQAIFL4T.jpg
:
 
Came here to post that pic. As happy as it makes me, it would make me even happier if it stayed that way come Royal Rumble, at least.
 
[quote name='Purple Flames']From Punk's twitter page. This image gives me hope for the future of the business
1zf6jpc.jpg
:[/QUOTE]


Mirrored it for you.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']If they turned Bryan heel and Ziggler face, and had a Dusty Rhodes-Ric Flair at Starrcade style buildup. then YES.

[/dreamworld][/QUOTE]

Turning Bryan heel would make a lot of sense considering the biggest face on the Smackdown brand is Orton. Orton/Bryan at Mania could be a possibility.
 
[quote name='Mr. Beef']Came here to post that pic. As happy as it makes me, it would make me even happier if it stayed that way come Royal Rumble, at least.[/QUOTE]

The future of the wwe. Hopefully this ignites some excitement in the wrestling community.
 
I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what would be really great is a WWE title that doesn't say fucking "MON NITE RAW CHAMP."
 
[quote name='Scorch']HEY GUYS DID YOU KNOW DEMOLITION MAN WAS ONE OF THOSE 36 PEOPLE?![/QUOTE]

Actually there was 500 people or so at the ROH show I was at. ;)
 
fucking loved Punk's announcer intro parodying the Simpsons "entertainment capital of the state" bit. And then he cut a good promo that got his character over, and used it to help Ryder and Danielson over AND make other titles seem important. Ryder's victory speech was nothing special, but Danielson's bringing up he and Punk's history in Philly at the Murphy Rec ruled. It was clear with all 3 guys in the ring that they were setting up a 6-man tag for the main, but I'm glad it was with Dolph, Alberto, and Miz, since it officially brings Dolph up to the main event level. This was 20 minutes of awesome. Orton and Barrett had a pretty good match with a shitty eye poke DQ finish, which made no sense since he won via eye poke and cradle to pin him before, and then Wastelanded him through a table which did a tremendous job setting up a table match...after their table match. Beth-Alicia...meant nothing BECAUSE ALICIA FOX WAS THE NUMBER 1 THING TRENDING ON TWITTER! And then seconds later she won. And then she cut a promo wishing everyone a FFOOOOXXXXXYYYY holiday. I'm officially done with her using her last name as a pun.

Sheamus came out and King said that JINDER MAHAL IS RISING TO THE TOP! Tremendous laughter was heard throughout the land. Jinder's wearing a turban now, which I'm expecting to result in a feud with Santino over his Rumble ad garb. Cole said on SD that Jinder was a huge star in movies, but tonight said that Jinder COULD have been an actor, but decided to go to WWE instead. Oh, and he got beat in like two minutes. SD ad built up Orton and Barrett locking eyes...so BarrOrton shippers should have a field day. Cena came out to address Kane attacking him. But first, he has to address the camera directly in a wacky way. Well, I guess if he didn't give a shit out of being screwed out of the WWE Title numerous times this year, why should a single chokeslam matter. He did his usual promo saying he can't believe people hate him, so don't, he's ready for April 1st (but the WWE Network isn't), oh yeah and there's a monster WHO HATES DENTISTS on the loose. But he'll forgive him if the chokeslam was an accident. Henry said some stuff, but was thrown off by sexual chocolate chants. Kane came out, beat up Cena, and now clearly has a beard full of grey. I'm not sure if this helps the monster deal or not. Oh, and he smothered Cena, made his lip bleed somehow, and tore Cena's pre-cut shirt off. This was underwhelming. Best part was Kane little four-note theme setup that rules.

YAY USOS ENTRANCE! It's a shame you could get a clear version of their full theme off their intro because no one reacts to them. They got to face Epico and Primo, who need a name, and a set act, and characters. Cole said it was evidence that the tag division is so exciting. Yup. There are three teams. One of the Usos took an awesome bump over the top apparently trying to dive onto one of the Colons, but the back stabber gave the heels the win. So now they're number 1 contenders to the tag titles again. Then they decided hell, let's make Cody a comedy act again and had him do a skit with Santino involving the CHRISTMAS COBRA as a gift. Amusing visual, but Cody (or Coby as Santino called him) is just getting over a pair of comedy gimmicks and needs to be taken seriously - shit like this won't help him. Cody beat Santino in a few minutes. Corny Tribute to the Troops vid aired. King's deadpan "well...that's great..." after it ruled. Hornswoggle made Vickie kiss him in a stupid skit. But it at least had some nice cougar cleavage. Awesome MITB recap video made the show seem like a must-buy for the replay. This turned into another great Ryder video package - made him seem like a real star. Show cut a nice promo saying he was okay with Danielson cashing it in until Josh said it led to him having the shortest world title reign ever - THAT was too much for him. Great little build for their eventual match. Neat SD vid set up Danielson as David against two Goliaths in Henry and Show. Loved having all the fan-friendly champs entering through the people - really made them come off like men of the people, and was a huge boost for Ryder, who came off as someone fans accept as a main event-level guy even if his act isn't. Loved the triple dive spot from the faces. Cole made a joke about Ryder and his dad auditioning for Dumb and Dumber. Which came out nearly two decade ago. Ryder was maybe six then. Cole really killed this match. Then he said that Zack was a WWE fan his whole life, was a nerd, AND AN OUTCAST AS A RESULT. He also buried Ryder for making drawings of the wrestlers, which is quite ironic given that Lawler's ENTIRE 30 YEAR CAREER began as a result of doing just that. Danielson won by making Alberto tap, so I'm guessing they send Alberto to SD. The faces won, then celebrated with the fans in the crowd. Awesome ending there, but my God does Cole need to shut up. They did EVERYTHING humanly possible to make Danielson and Ryder legit main event acts in one night and he did everything possible to make sure that didn't happen.

Screens -

MURPHY REC!


















Quotes -
Punk - Live from Philly, the entertainment capital of the state! On behalf of John Lauritis, I am proud to declare the results of TLC. Who won the triple threat? Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, OR THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD!? AND THE WINNER WAS…ME!
King - TGIM - Thank God it’s Monday.
Sign - Hooters Love Raw
Punk - So, much to the chagrin of old clownshoes Lauritinits, and everything flying, including Ricardo flying 20 feet and crashed through a table, I MANAGED TO RETAIN MY WWE TITLE! Now I’m beat up, sore, and I do truly believe that this is a title a lot of people never thought I’d hold. Which brings us to our next contest - the United States Championship match. So who was the winner? WAS IT MR. ZIGGLES OR WAS IT ZACK RYDER!? AND THE WINNER WAS… spoiler alert. LONG ISLAND ICED Z! Now I’ve saved the biggest for last. There was a chairs match for the world title. So who won THE CHAIRS MATCH!? It was the Big Show, BUT WHO WALKED OUT WITH THE TITLE!? IT DOES ME PROUD TO SAY IT’S DANIEL BRYAN! This city is so entrenched in PRO WRESTLING HISTORY. WHAT ABOUT IT PHILLY!?
Crowd - ECW! ECW!
Punk - This really trips me out, because whoever woulda thought that Punk and Daniel Bryan, who met 10 years ago at the Murphy Rec Center, would 10 years later be in a WWE ring as the WWE and World champion!? Taking nothing away from Long Island Iced Z, go ahead…WOO WOO WOO! THIS IS CRAZY! And so now I’m the guy who says what he wants, I have no filter, but this isn’t about me, it’s about these two guys who started at the bottom and worked their way to the top. Guys who breathe wrestling. The blood, sweat, and tears given up for this business. WWE UNIVERSE, YOU HAVE BROUGHT THEM TO THIS LEVEL! I’m the WWE Champ and I want to hear form the new champs. Zack?
Ryder - I can’t believe it - I called my dad and asked if I was champ, he said WOO WOO WOO, YOU KNOW IT!
Danielson- Ya know, Punk said no one expected him to be WWE Champion, but no one expected me to be in WWE. People like Cole said I shouldn’t be here, well guess what, NOT ONLY AM I HERE, I’M A CHAMPION! AND NOT JUST ANY CHAMPION, THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Now it is absolutely unbelievable, this entire experience…
Ace - As EVP and GM of Raw, I gave each of you a chance last night at the TLC PPV. While some were successful, and others were not, and being the creative GM I am, I’ve decided on tonight’s main event. Which will be the team of the Miz, Dolph, and Alberto against the team of Daniel Bryan, Ryder, and CM Punk. PLEASE CONSIDER THIS MATCH TO BE MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO ALL OF YOU, AND THE WWE UNIVERSE! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Cole - THANK YOU SANTA JOHNNY!
King - I saw the statue of Rocky earlier.
Cole - DID IT REMIND YOU OF ME!?
King - Yeah, it was a big stiff standing there.
Fox - Hi!
Cole - BE QUIET!
Fox - I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FOXXY HOLIDAY!
King - Jinder Mahal is rising to the top!
Cole - Jinder could’ve been in big movies there, but he went to WWE instead.
Cena - What I am about to say will be shocking! So much so that if you have a healrh condition, you need to muffle your ears. SOME PEOPLE DON’T LIKE ME! I know, it caught me by surprise, but apparently I can get under some people’s skin. Some are here, some are not, my opponent at WM, DWAYNE THE ROCK JOHNSON,T HE MAN WHO BRINGS BOOTS TO ASSES AND HAS CENA IN HIS CROSSHAIRS. I see you and I’m ready for April first. BUT THERE’S A MONSTER ON THE LOOSE WHO WEARS FIRE AND GETS REAL UNEASY AT THE DENIST! HE CHOKESLAMMED ME TO HELL! If it was an accident, we can go on our separate ways.
Henry - THE BUSINESS YOU NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT IS I HAD YOU LAYING IN THAT RING LAST WEEK! IF IT WASN’T FOR KANE, YOU’D BE THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE HALL OF PAIN! You doing a monologue full of jokes…(crowd chants sexual chocolate) LIKE I’M IN THE MOOD FOR JOKES! I LOST MY WORLD TITLE TONIGHT. AND THAT’S WHAT I’M OUT HERE TO DO! TO ADDRESS! My injuries and why I lost. If I was you, I’d kick rocks and get outta my face, cuz I’m all the business you need to worry about.
Josh - Cody, how ya feeling?
Cody - Are we to pretend that what I just saw with Santino was not the most ridiculous thing ever? Just as ridiculous as the notion of Booker T returning and defeating the man who resurrected the IC Title. If anyone looked in a crystal ball, they’d see this face emerging…
Santino - Tis the season for giving, Coby Rhodes. Here’s a Christmas gift.
Cody - I don’t’ want it.
Santino - IT’S….A CHRISTMAS COBRA!
Cole - Booker’s sitting in a rundown hotel learning to be a wrestler like Cody and a commentator like me.
King - The show wouldn’t be the same without you- it’d be better!
Cole - JUST LIKE YOU LAST YEAR, HE WANTED ONE MORE SHOT AT THE BRASS RING!
King - Hornswoggle’s gonna have low ELF esteem!
Josh - Show, what’s your state of mind? After a nine year drought, you became world champ only to have Daniel Bryan cash in 45 seconds later?
Show - I had it in my hands…ya know…nine years…for that moment and um…nine long years of claswing and digging to get back to the mountaintop and in seconds it went away. 3 seconds took away what took me 9 years to get back. I was speechless. When you think about it, it’s my fault - I encouraged him to not wait til WM and cash it in on Mark Henry, but at TLC, he did it to me… um… But ya know, I gotta give the little guy his due - he’s living his dream. That’s…
Josh - C’mon Show, YOU’RE NOT THAT NICE! You have a record that’ll never be broken - the shorted world title reign in history.
Show - I’m okay…(cries and leaves)
Cole - IT’S THE BROSKI BOOT! HE CALLS IT THE BROSKI BOOT! CALL IT RIGHT IF YOU’RE GOING TO CALL HIS MATCHES!
Kign - What are you talking about? I didn’t say it wasn’t the Broski Boot.
Cole - ZACK RYDER WAS A NERD GROWING UP! HE WATCHED WWE! HE WAS AN OUTCAST HIS ENTIRE LIFE!
 
[quote name='Scorch']Beth wasn't faking it when she acted like she was hurt after her match with Alicia Fox.

zlq92e.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Yeowch.
 
Fun show. Nothing urgent or groundbreaking. The opening promo was fun, but I was shocked that it was only 15 minutes. It felt like half an hour. Wade Barrett is DOA in terms of crowd reaction. Sheamus, shockingly, is not.

I left before the dark match main event (Kane v Cena). As I was leaving the arena, Kane's pyro hit and I saw a grown man jump in the air as if he were a five-year old who discovered monsters under his bed. Magnificent.

Dark match was Dean Ambrose v Ted DiBiase. Wasn't sure who the jobber was in this one. Ambrose cut a cookie-cutter "here I am" promo. Billed from Cincinnati (huzzah!), and his demeanor and style remind me a lot of Brian Pillman and "Thee" Brian Kendrick (i.e., not the whatever-the-christ he is now in TNA).

Alicia Fox is fucking awful. The crowd seemed to heel her entirely. Hope it came across that way on TV.

Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins lost to Kofi and Bourne (I can't bring myself to type their team name) on Superstars. Tyler Reks is just no good, and I can't believe Curt Hawkins has not been future endeavor'd. Crowd loved Kofi and Bourne.

Alex Riley wrestled Michael Micgilli-Hennig. I bought a soda and a t-shirt during this opportune moment.

Glad I went, but there wasn't much memorable about this show.
 
Nope, I was sitting in the cheapies. There was a cat in a black polo shirt who came into the ring after the match ended at the ref's urgence (you can barely see the top of his head at 8:50ish in the video above). Del Rio did walk to the back by himself, but he seemed pretty hurt. Then again, this is wrestling, so the guy who lost the match walking back looking like he's in pain is pretty commonplace.
 
prowrestling.net said shoulder injury. So someone's wrong, and evidently Del Rio is grand at selling.

After looking at Phoenix's face after her match, I'd be interested to see what WWE politics are like. Alicia Fox is fucking terrible, and a liability to the well being of the people she faces in the ring. She should be back in FCW learning to not be fucking awful, not having a title feud. I am curious if Phoenix has enough pull to make sure this feud ends right now.
 
[quote name='Haggar']If you already have this Austin DVD:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vWGporPVL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Is it worth getting this Austin DVD:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510dbsPmqsL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I know the documentary is new, and there's an extra DVD so obviously more content, I guess I was worried about to much repeating content from the older DVD.

I don't follow wrestling now, nor care about recent events in wrestling if that makes a difference.

Thanks for anyone who can give a quick comment, lengthly breakdown isn't necessary. Thanks again.[/QUOTE]
It's very worth it. Get the Blu Ray if you can.
 
The WWE has reportedly pulled their contract offer to Chris Hero after his pre-employment drug screening showed elevated levels of testosterone.

I suppose that'd explain how he suddenly lost the indie gut he had and grew the confidence to drop the Superman PJ's.
 
I am surprised it was still on the table as Claudio has been in FCW by himself for like 2 months now. I wonder if you get a second chance down the road with that kind of stuff or if that is it.
 
All of you that think this is some sort of uprising, look back over the last ten years or so during this exact time period (Nov thru Jan) and take a look at who WWE has tested the waters with prior to the Road to Wrestlemania[tm].

The experiment I most remember is the push of Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton. I was a Jeff Hardy mark (reluctant to admit, but moot point nevertheless) so I was kind of excited when he finally got his chance to shine. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the outcome.

I guess I'm just saying.... Don't get your hopes up. I'm definitely not.

I brought this up last year (or the year before) as well when some people got excited about a change.
 
Mick Foley, Jeff Hardy, and Sheamus are all examples of guys pushed at or around the december PPV for a hot moment then relegated back down. This is the one time a year Vince tries something new, but he usually doesn't stick with it. Evolution being the exception.
 
I was just watching some older stuff on youtube and forgot that Victoria had that tatu song for an entrance and was playing the "off my meds" character. She was actually pretty damn good then, though it's hard to find promos so I'm basing that on her ring work. It took me a second to realize that she's 40 and aside from Booke the hottest knockout in TNA...
 
Raw ratings were in the shitter last night. Who will take the fall?

Also, no posts so far tonight suggest that Daniel Bryan didn't get Christian'd at SD tonight. If he had, someone would have posted the spoilers by now.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Raw ratings were in the shitter last night. Who will take the fall?

Also, no posts so far tonight suggest that Daniel Bryan didn't get Christian'd at SD tonight. If he had, someone would have posted the spoilers by now.[/QUOTE]

It's going to become a very big question soon, yes. Normally I'd say that this week is sort of glossed over when the ratings come in because it's the 'holiday show'... just sort of a light and fluffy HOORAY FACES BOO HEELS show that usually doesn't advance too much. WWE seems to realize that this isn't a time of year that people are invested in it, and they rightly choose to not do big moments. So, yeah, ratings-wise, I'd guess they don't pay the same attention to this week.

... the problem is that the ratings for the past 2 months have been just terrible. It's a downward trend, with the disturbing run of something like 9-10 shows where the rating has gone DOWN in the second hour. I see that as worse, since not only are ratings down, but it sort of implies that the base to even turn things around isn't really there. I remember reading something about how WWE is actually #3 in the 18-49 demo now, behind MNF and Pawn Stars.

Then again, I spent most of my fall flipping over to Pawn Stars at 10pm anyway, so I guess I'm part of the problem. It's a slow drift, but I'd say that by about 10:10, I'm sitting firmly on the History Channel until 10:57.

Still, it's all pretty important, especially given that it's not like you can christen the last few months as the 'Punk era' or whatever. Punk and Del Rio were circling the belt, but this ratings drop also happened during a time where the show was featuring Cena, Rock, and HHH. Ultimately, I think that's what WWE needs to worry about. Their quick-fix injections don't seem to have the same effect that they used to.

... which brings up a question... just how low to Raw's numbers have to dip until the nuclear option?
 
and what is the nuclear option? i think if it hits 2.5 for 3 straight weeks, that's when they'll freak.

WCW Nitro was in the low 2's at the end of its tenure as a program, if memory serves.

But if/when it hits 2.5, what then? Back to Orton/Cena? Back to opening segments of 20-minutes of talking? GMs booking matches on the fly, so you have nothing to anticipate from week to week? That's the problem with WWE in a nutshell - they HAVE no failsafe to return to. You can't think that putting the belt on Cena will help, will it? Is there a nation of 4-year olds who refuse to watch their champ until he gets the belt that will help stabilize the ratings?

I think WWE is in the TNA spot, oddly enough. No matter what they do, people don't give a fuck about the product. We've stopped caring. People who like pro wrestling find WWE's writing appalling, matches uninteresting, production repetitive beyond measure, and characters unlikeable. I went to the show the other day, and it was kinda fun. But I've never felt so apathetic on the whole. It was very much like "eh, I'll take it or leave it. whatever." That was my approach to the show. Indifference. And I am (was?) a fucking FANATIC. Even I don't watch Raw every week now.
 
See, I was sorting of hoping someone here had an idea for the 'nuclear option', because I really, really didn't. I won't rehash it because you already covered it nicely... there's no real quick fix for any of this.

The other issue, obviously, is that Vince's idea of a nuclear option and ours would likely differ greatly. If you want my honest, opinion, I'd wager that WWE would morph into a pseudo-WCW2.0 (3.0? 4.0?) where they'd do nothing but throw everything at the wall until something stuck. That's not too far removed from now, but it'll get just that one to two to five steps worse.

You make a very good point about fans, too. I honestly have no idea what would bring me back to the level of fandom I previously had, or if it's even possible for WWE to accomplish it. That, I think, is the core issue that really scares me about the future of that company... can they change? Will they? If they did, would it *ever* be in a way that pleases older fans like us? Actual feuds? No more week-to-week booking? Characters that mean something? Actual fucking WRESTLING?

Even at the precipice of change, they blink. There's never any follow through. It's a dead horse by now, but the Summer of Punk angle could have legitimately revitalized the business. I mean, jesus, they were getting mainstream media coverage. They murdered it in eight days.

I'm sorry, I'm going to stop ranting now. It just baffles me that there's a company with a built-in fanbase of people WHO TRULY AND HONESTLY WANT TO GIVE A SHIT and they appear to not just ignore them, but make choices that outright antagonize them.
 
So most of you around here are the hardcore fans and I'm more the casual observer. I enjoyed a couple of months worth of watching that lead up to "the punk moment" and haven't watched a minute of wrestling outside of botchamania or 10-20 year old stuff on YT and the occasional TNA stream on the spike site.

Here's what I'd do:
Get rid of that nasty belt and make something that looks like a champion's belt and not a toy.

Granted his ego is outrageous, but I imagine that CM Punk could run the whole show and have it make sense with the drama that we enjoy from wrestling. I mean really, it's a soap opera with choreographed beat downs. It's like a balet being done by meat. And since we all know that it's kind of hokey, let it be that carnival attraction that's a little seedy but still family appropriate.

booking by committee isn't working, too many chefs pissing in the broth. Find one person and make them responsible, let the writers have input so they can build story arcs, but one person makes the call. That person not being Vince or HHH.

Bring back random jobbers from local promotions for squash matches. I used to love seeing some dude named "Randall Johnson" come in and get destroyed against whoever back in the day. They'd have the generic red trunks and that's about it. But they were fun and had charisma and definitely wanted to show their stuff in hopes of "making it" or whatever. Nowadays this is done before the camera is rolling and we don't get to see anyone other than the same 15-20 people on TV. They get boring and overused.

Slow things down a bit. How much time was there between Andre ripping off Hogan's shirt and WM III? Half a year? That would be three weeks at best now. This contributes to that drama I mentioned. Things need to be set up and boil for a bit. This also requires getting more people involved and not having the top 4 be on TV every week.
 
The most important thing about enjoying pro wrestling is *anticipation*. Fans have to care about the involved parties to be sure, but anticipation. WWE is succeeding with this (sorta) in only one way: Cena-Rock at WM. Announcing a match a year in advance helps provide build.

Think of Austin walking out on Raw because he was written to job out to Brock Lesnar with no advance notice or buildup. HE WAS RIGHT. WWE was leaving millions of dollars on the table by booking that way. No anticipation. No lunchtime conversations of grade school kids about how Lesnar is unstoppable or Austin is the best of all time. No video packages. No angle. A 3-7 minute match. That's it.

Anticipation.

nasum, let me speak in a language that appeals to you. Say you're on a date with someone you haven't slept with yet. You know you're gonna hook up later. You can see it in her eyes. Do you want her to, without forewarning or provocation, give you head before the salads are out at dinner? Or do you want her to string you along throughout the meal or whatever other non-dinner non-fucking things you do, knowing that sometime tonight, no matter what, you're getting laid? (for sake of the analogy, you can't have both, ok?)

That's WWE. Christian drops the belt in two days. They say "wait and see how it turns out." The angle stunk. Punk leaves the company with the title, gets mainstream coverage. Returns in 8 days, mainstream coverage goes into "what could've been/well, that was neat for a minute." They say "wait and see how it turns out." It's time for them to fucking wait.

I'm trying to envision classic literature as written by WWE. Tolstoy's War and Peace would be 215 pages.
 
[quote name='JJSP']WWE '12 is $30 at Best Buy as their DOTD for Wednesday[/QUOTE]

Nice. May rebuy this game since I just sold my copy for $50.
 
The anticipation angle is a good point, but it's almost impossible now. There are so few marquee match-ups that haven't been done already that these angles would need to be built around a story and little else. That's the sad thing to me... they had their number one guy literally walk out on the company because of that style of booking, yet continued to plow ahead with it without stopping.

Rock/Cena is more of an old school build, but that's more out of necessity than good booking. Even then, I think the build thus far has been terrible, with overuse of taped promos and completely wrong and/or miscalculated use of The Rock when he *does* show up. I mean, for fuck's sake, just look at that 3 hour 'Raw Gets Rocked!' from before SS... is there anyone that will argue that was a good use of The Rock in general, let alone as part of a WM build?

It's the vicious cycle they've created for themselves... they've used up their marquee match-ups, so they have to keep putting the same guys together... but they're also not really building new guys to take their place... even when new guys are moved up, it feels fake and forced... leading to the old guys rising to the top again. Seriously, we (I) talked about it the other day, it's pretty fucking hard to create matches for WM with this roster that would both be good matches AND have the name recognition to sell a PPV. My last example was Bryan/Ziggler, but that just isn't going to sell PPVs. Not to the people WWE is trying to reach, anyway.

... one final point, though I do miss the days of jobber squashes on TV, I need to point out that 'guys in generic red trunks' pretty much describes 90% of the current roster if you change red to black. Add 'shitty tattoos' and you're pretty much hitting 100%. So much of the roster is milquetoast and interchangeable that they'd need to find some REALLY indy motherfuckers to make it work.
 
They need to hire Dem Boys!

Well, they set the bar for shitty tattoos, but they are indeed unique and...what was the word used earlier by nasum...unpolished.
 
[quote name='JJSP']WWE '12 is $30 at Best Buy as their DOTD for Wednesday[/QUOTE]

Taking my receipt from my launch day copy to BB to see if I can get it price adjusted..
 
WWE needs to go look at the way WCW used to build their shows for how to make marquee matches mean something. You let people see good wrestling on free TV, but save your big boys for the PPV's. John Cena shouldn't wrestle on every show like he does. Top guys should rock the stick, while everyone else should be tearing down the house to get themselves over.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']nasum, let me speak in a language that appeals to you. Say you're on a date with someone you haven't slept with yet. blah blayh blah[/QUOTE]

depends, does she have red hair?

In the end, you've essentially restated what I said. Let things happen organically and for fuck's sake don't let anyone over the age of 40 wrestle, taker's last match aside.
 
Preliminary numbers for Survivor Series 2011 are in... 280,000 buys. That's up from 244,000 in 2010, and 235,000 in 2009.

For some context, that 235,000 in 2009 was the buy-rate that was so low it initially prompted WWE to remove Survivor Series from the following year's schedule. Again, The Rock's return to the ring after EIGHT YEARS resulted in only 45,000 more buys than the event that sold poorly enough to get an over-20-year-old PPV canceled.

There's no way they can't be disappointed in that.
 
[quote name='007']There's no way they can't be disappointed in that.[/QUOTE]

Down $0.16 today, probably more dissapointed in that.
 
[quote name='Scorch']Taking my receipt from my launch day copy to BB to see if I can get it price adjusted..[/QUOTE]

I still have the receipt from my launch day copy as well. I totally forgot about taking that and getting it adjusted and using that money back to help purchase my new copy for $10 and some change out of pocket. Damn.
 
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