The SmarK RAW Supershow Rant – 04.16.12
Live from London, England
Your hosts are Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler
WWE title: CM Punk v. Mark Henry
Mark Henry doesn’t even get an entrance! At least they do the in-ring introductions to make this seem like a big deal. Punk goes for the legs to start, but Henry easily overpowers him with the CLUBBING FOREARMS. Punk tries the leg kicks again, but he walks into a spinebuster as the fans try to do the “Yes” thing for Punk. Henry bails and Punk hits him with a tope suicida, but he charges and Henry redirects him into the post. Punk keeps fighting and hits a Jeff Hardy-esque railrunning bulldog in a fun spot, but can’t get Henry back into the ring. Punk keeps throwing kicks and the crowd sets up for an epic “OOOOOOOH YES!” finale, but Henry catches the kick and throws Punk into the railing. Ouch. And we take a break. Back with Punk fighting back out of a chinlock and grabbing a chair for some safe shots that get two. Henry just gets MAD and uses the chair himself, but Punk fights back again with shots in the corner…until Henry clotheslines him to cut off another “yes” rally from the crowd. Henry with the bearhug, but Punk elbows out of it and hits a short DDT for two. To the top for a bodypress, but Henry catches him. Punk escapes and hits the high kick, but Henry won’t go down. Mark charges and hits his own chair in the corner, and that puts him down finally, allowing Punk to take the chair TO THE TOP and finish with a chair-assisted Macho elbow at 14:10. Great PPV quality title defense for Punk, as they did the Sting-Vader thing and it was totally effective. ***1/2 Jericho pops up on the screen afterwards and announces that they’re doing a Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rematches. And he has footage of Punk in a PUB from earlier in the day! Punk claims he was just having fish and chips with a friend. This kind of dragged on a bit, as the alcohol thing just isn’t working for me.
Meanwhile, R-Truth gets recruited by Teddy Long.
US title: Santino Marella v. David Otunga
Oh lord, don’t tell me they’re gonna do this. Otunga gets a powerslam for two and pounds away with forearms, then drops a pair of elbows for two. Santino comes back and slugs away, but Otunga boots him down and hits the spinebuster for the pin, but Santino is in the ropes. Otunga stupidly argues the point, allowing Santino to make the comeback with the Cobra at 2:00. Whew. Otunga looked terrible here, with bad timing on all the big stuff.
Meanwhile, Lord Tensai talks to Josh about fear.
Brock Lesnar gets a video package, showing his NCAA highlights and UFC photos! Holy crap! At Extreme Rules, it’ll be an Extreme Rules match. Which differs greatly from a Chicago Street Fight, I’m sure. Anyway, great promo from Brock.
Zack Ryder v. Kane
Kane boots Ryder off the apron and beats the shit out of him on the floor before the bell even rings, and we don’t get a match. Ryder gets escorted out like the geek he is now and Kane moves onto cutting a promo on Orton instead. If this stupid feud isn’t leading to Orton & Orton v. Kane & Paul Bearer, then I give up on wrestling.
Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan makes it clear that just because he’s broken up with AJ, that doesn’t mean Kofi Kingston is allowed to talk to her. And he decides that the Lebell Lock is now the Yes Lock, because when the referee asks you if you want to tap, all you can say is “Yes!” Kofi trying not to lose it with Bryan yelling “YES” in his face made this segment.
John Cena comes out to whine about how Johnny Ace has been picking on him, and brought in Brock Lesnar to end his career. And at the PPV, he will overcome fear and fight him. On April 29, at Extreme Rules. Thank god, someone who remembers how to hard-sell a damn PPV. Big Johnny interrupts to make an EXTREME RULES match for Cena tonight, and announce a contract signing next week. Big Johnny’s music is magnificent.
Daniel Bryan v. Kofi Kingston
The crowd goes BATSHIT for Bryan here. Bryan with a northern lights suplex and dropkick in the corner, and he drops a pair of knees and goes to work on the arm. Running knee puts Kofi down for two, but he fights back until Bryan knees him down again. Kofi comes back with a back elbow, but Bryan tosses him. The running knee misses and Kofi fires off a springboard bodypress to the floor, and we take a break. Back with Kofi getting a monkey flip, but Bryan kicks him down and chokes him out. Giant kicks in the corner get two. Bryan goes to a chinlock, but Kofi fights back with kicks of his own and makes the comeback to huge boos. Wacky kick misses and Bryan tries to finish, but Kofi gets the SOS for two. That’s such a stupid finisher. Kofi pounds away in the corner and goes up, but Bryan brings him down and then dodges a bodypress. The YESLOCK finishes at 9:00. Bryan continues the punishment, but Sheamus makes the save and gets booed out of the building. So much for Miami being an aberration, I guess. Really enjoyable match to put Bryan over strong before he jobs to Sheamus at the PPV. ***
Brodus Clay v. Dolph Ziggler
You’d think Jack Swagger would be the next step up for Clay, not Dolph. Swagger comes in at 0:20 for the immediate DQ. Vicki beats up one of the Funkettes and Brodus jiggles at her. Lame.
Meanwhile, Eve meets up with Big Johnny.
Epico & Primo v. Big Show & Great Khali
Khali pounds on Epico in the corner and hauls Primo in for a big boot, and the champs take a walk, but Show throws them back in for Khali to chop down. Stereo slams finish at 2:00. Useless segment. DUD
EXTREME RULES MATCH: John Cena v. Lord Tensai
They’re swinging for the fences with Tensai, I see. Cena actually appears concerned for once. Tensai pounds him down and throws boots, then no-sells a suplex and clotheslines Cena down. He gets a pair of corner whips and follows with a splash, allowing Cena to bail and regroup. Tensai beats on him outside the ring and sends him into the stairs, but Cena backdrops him. Cena puts him down with the stairs to the head and they head back in, but Tensai’s man-servant lays out Cena and Tensai gets two off a suplex. He misses a charge and Cena comes back with the usual, but Tensai chops him down off the Five Knuckle Shuffle and hits a senton for two. Tensai with a Herb Kunze armbar, but Cena rolls into the STF, so Otunga runs in and breaks it up. Cena gives him the FU, but he walks into the GREEN MIST OF DOOM and BALDO BOMB at 7:00. Quite the leap from squashing geeks to going over John Cena, but I guess they had to do something drastic. **1/2
The Pulse
Hell of a show this week. Two good long matches, John Cena sells a PPV and then does a clean job for a new guy, Rosa Mendes dances, what more do you need? More like this, please.
Really enjoyed the show, Punk and Henry was great, same goes for Bryan and Kingston. Bryan's 'Who did Gene LeBell ever beat" was just a phenomenal line and perfect for his character.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that Laurinitus was best as the middle management guy who's intentions weren't really clear, I'm still enjoying his new role, as long as he keeps doing the smile.
Hated seeing Cena lose here. What has Brock accomplished by beating Cena at Extreme Rules if it's so simple Albert can do it?..
ReplyDeleteI thought Bryan's "Ssshhhhhhh" was ****3/4..
ReplyDeleteBrock isn't going to do it dirty, and he's going to kill Cena. Like, hospitalize him.
ReplyDelete"Punk keeps throwing kicks and the crowd sets up for an epic “OOOOOOOH YES!” finale"...
ReplyDeleteWait was Sheamus really "booed out of the building" if so didn't really notice when watching. He seemed to get a moderate face response on entry if anything.
ReplyDeleteSo, because Cena loses once, it's that easy? A guy that Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, JBL, Kurt Angle, Batista, Edge, Big Show, and countless others have lost to, numerous times. A guy that's held, what, 78 titles? A guy that's head-lined 8 Wrestlemania's in a row, is easy to beat?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it would take a year's worth of losing every chance he could get for me to see a chink in Cena's armor.
Him losing to Albert is perfect, because it'll bust his confidence, and have him fearing Lesnar that much more.
Yeah, the crowd's response to the ending was off. They were ridiculously pro-Bryan the entire match (night, really) right up until the point where he YESLOCKed Kofi after the match. I know I heard solid booing there, but I don't actually remember the reaction to Sheamus making the save.
ReplyDeleteAJ is going to run out & cost Sheamus the title....Bryan & AJ were in cahoots the whole time....they'll do an over-the-top reunion and the Chicago crowd will absolutely lose its mind while giving Sheamus actual motivation for continuing the feud.
ReplyDeleteAt least that's what they SHOULD do.
Makes sense....did'nt Debra and Jeff Jarrett do something similar one time when they were supposedly "on the outs" ?
ReplyDeleteWhy "should" they do that with AJ? They already have a slutty, conniving chick in Eve, and while I've no doubt that AJ can pull that character off as well (as she did in FCW), it seems a waste to throw away all that has made her stand out these past several months.
ReplyDeleteSheamus still got the United Kingdom pop, so he wasn't booed out of the building, but the cheers were clearly louder for Bryan.
ReplyDeleteI said before that I thought there was a 10% chance that Sheamus/Bryan goes on last at Extreme Rules...after tonight I'm up to 30%. I can't see them ending the PPV with Brock destroying Cena, and the only reason that Punk/Jericho is still the favorite for that spot is because CM Punk is from Chicago...but his pop will be nowhere near what it was for last year's Money in the Bank, as their feud has really only been lukewarm at best.
It's actually negative 50 percent that Sheamus/Bryan closes Extreme Rules. You don't run a match as big as Brock/Cena in the first hour. It's going on last, regardless of the outcome.
ReplyDeleteI think Tensai beating Cena is actually going to be detrimental to him and cause the fan backlash to be worse. I would have waited at least a bit until the Albert chants died down a bit and people got used to the new gimmick before putting him over the top guy in the company. When Lesnar first came in, people kept chanting "Goldberg" at him until they eventually got used to him. There's nothing wrong with a slow build to get people used to the character. Again, how many jobbers did Goldberg fight every week before gradually moving on to more high profile feuds? Can you imagine Goldberg vs Sting his third week into it? No, they waited several months before doing that match. Goldberg's booking in 98 was one of the few things WCW did RIGHT. (Well until Starrcade anyway.) Same with Lesnar in 02. He didn't beat The Rock his third week in, they waited a few months. If you're going to squash Epico and Primo like that you may as well use them to try to put Tensai over and have him just demolish both of them in short order. Would have been a smarter move than having him beat your top guy his third week in in a desperate attempt to try to garner instant credibility for the guy.
ReplyDeleteNow that Tensai has gone from beating jobbers to the top man in the company the fans are going to turn on him even more because it's now obvious that he's going to be pushed regardless of what the fans think. At least if he moved up the ladder to bigger and tougher opponents like Lesnar/Goldberg did it would give them the CHANCE to accept the character with a few wins under his belt. At least a slow, gradual build with him moving up the ladder and beating gradually tougher opponents before finally arriving at Cena would have been logical for the fans. But instead the Albert/A-Train chants are going to intensify now.
Couldn't agree more, Sheamus is getting booed and has been giving cookie cutter generic face promo's since winning the title... best thing they can do is get the strap back on a red-hot DB and let Sheamus regain his popularity/edge again before getting back into the title hunt.
ReplyDeleteLOL you think they are going to end a PPV with DB/Sheamus when they have BROCK vs CENA on the card??? Seriously.. you think 30%... I'd put it at a big fat 0%.
ReplyDeleteNot that it really matters but Kofi just standing there while Bryan yelled Yes in his face made Kingston look like a total loser.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope all of you got your Yes burying out of your system last week. Bryan got to say Yes 500 times last night, has a shirt that says Yes, changed his finisher name to the Yes Lock but they are definitely trying to get rid of that chant.
Please tell me other things that will happen in the future.
ReplyDeleteBrock doesn't care about beating Cena 1, 2, 3. He wants to beat the shit out of him. I think they actually are going somewhere with this, where Cena keeps losing and starts to question things. I hope so at least, would be quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't like Brock beating Rocky though. That was a big moment in Brock's career in the main event of a major PPV, for the most important title. This was more like Cena being screwed over and the new guy being in the right position to benefit, while still obviously not being made to look like Cena's clean superior. I don't think they consider this a result that puts A-Train at the top of the Raw ladder.
ReplyDeleteWas surprised it wasn't Miz or ADR that was Cena's mystery opponent. Not even on the show, they are getting buried worse than Zack Ryder.
ReplyDeleteYes, they seem to have realized the initial mistake they were making, when they actually were burying it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they're finally embracing it, when they were drowning out the sound, it made no sense.
ReplyDeleteThe era of "YES!" has begun!
Eh, I think they did try to bury it but have since given up and are now going with it. Vince finally saw the dollar signs in Daniel Bryan.
ReplyDeleteI was in the crowd at DC last week, they weren't burying anything.
ReplyDeleteMiz was well on his way to being buried Zack Ryder style, but hey, he got to pin Ryder at WM. Just by that act alone, he is not "getting buried worse" than Ryder.
ReplyDeleteADR? You're joking right?
I can actually see the logic of putting it on last, as it should generate lots of heat, but lets not forget CM PUNK is on the card and BROCK LESNAR is going to destroy John Cena, which will no doubt generate NUCLEAR heat.
ReplyDeleteI'm making fun of the people that said Bryan was buried by not being on RAW last week.
ReplyDeleteI hope Daniel Bryan and AJ reconcile. Who doesn't enjoy a good wrestling love story? 8 )
ReplyDelete"we can rename you homer junior, the kids can call you hoju"
ReplyDeletesolid sampsons refference
Agreed. Kofi should have slapped him to shut him up. It would have added some good heat to the match later that night.
ReplyDeleteaww, my bad, sarcasm tone...internet...you know.
ReplyDeleteNah, you were just at a bad RAW :-)
ReplyDeleteHas Mark Henry taken/been given a single day off since the foot injury?
ReplyDeletePlease don't. We had every reason to be concerned.
ReplyDeleteyou are aware that jokes get less funny if you explain them?
ReplyDeleteas Hirsch wrote, they aren't building the feud between Lesnar and Cena about the outcome of the match. it's more like "can Cena SURVIVE Brock Lesnar?"
ReplyDeleteAn Irishman booed in London, you say? Geez, I wonder why that could be. Tensai and Cena will headline tthe Raw House Shows in the late spring, get $75-100K a night, and it will be all be okay.
ReplyDeleteWell since you asked nicely...
ReplyDeleteI think for Tensai to garner some real heat, he needs to beat up on a beloved babyface. That's usually pretty tough nowadays since a huge beating will result in cheers for the heel so he'd probably need to slaughter Santino, who's probably the most universally loved wrestler from the audience.
ReplyDeleteI hate those damn promos he does when he relates to something back in Ireland to his match or opponent. They all suck so bad.
ReplyDeleteDBD out-popping Punk in Chicago? Nope.
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely. The worst part of Sheamus is his horrific babyface persona where he talks about, as my friend put it, "Me uncle Patty's shriveled left testicle."
ReplyDeleteWill it really generate nuclear heat? I think Brock savagely destroying Cena and stretchering him out might result in massive pops.
ReplyDeleteRemember, the PPV is in Chicago, generally a smark-heavy crowd.
They'll be cheering Brock and they hate Cena.
ReplyDeleteUnless that's the joke. Jokes where the humour comes from needing to explain it in overly elaborate detail are brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to reply to your snarky fail of a comment. Look it worked!
ReplyDeleteYeah I definitely understand that, but at the same time now that he's gotten a victory over Cena it's going to be a lot tougher to get the fans to care about anyone lesser that he faces.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever notice how men always leave the toilet seat up?
ReplyDeleteThat's the joke.
Happens way too often when they come to town, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYOU SUCK MCBAIN!
ReplyDeleteI like how Lawler acknowledged the "Albert" chants by saying Tensai was a former superstar who went to Japan and came back changed... I wonder if it was the same kind of ceremony that changed the One Man Gang into Akeem. Is Slick available for comment?
ReplyDeleteIf this scenario did happen, I don't think AJ's character would be "slutty and conniving." Eve's schtick is that she'll use men up and spit them out. AJ's schtick is that she's entirely devoted to Bryan and will do anything to help him win, even though he's rarely/never appreciative of it --- she's the Harley Quinn to his Joker.
ReplyDeleteWho won the match between realdeal and ChinWins?
ReplyDeleteI think some cities are just places they don't care as much about. Raws in Nashville have been atrocious a lot of times.
ReplyDeleteIt's not his ass-kicking foot.
ReplyDeleteJosh Matthews: "Brock, do you have a prediction for Extreme Rules?"
ReplyDelete:Brock looks directly into the camera:
Brock: "Pain".
If you get that reference, congratulations! You were born before 1990.
I'm SHough610 and I approve this scenario and reference.
ReplyDeleteBut why not have Bryan come out on Smackdown and be pissed that AJ didn't let him win the title legitimately? Let him continue being a dick.
It seems like every other Raw is good. Though I wasn't enamored of the last half hour.
ReplyDeleteIt's me standing in front of a brick wall for two hours. It cost 100 million dollars to make.
ReplyDeleteReal deal got dqed for trolling
ReplyDeleteI know who lost: everyone who read that thread.
ReplyDeleteHow do you sleep at night?
ReplyDeleteI also think the Harley Quinn idea is spot on. Would be an awesome dynamic and perhaps lead to the greatest promos of the last decade.
ReplyDeleteAJ standing by the man she adores - even if it's technically a heel action - is the sort of character motivation the WWE has failed at miserably in the past couple of years.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many possibilities with the Bryan/AJ relationship because it's moved past the simple "AJ & Bryan are together" motif they've done in the past when pairing up couples. We have an established storyline/motive for both - Bryan is a delusional nutcase who is actually a damn good wrestler, while AJ is the naive girl who adores him even though it's pretty obvious she shouldn't.
Daniel Bryan was going to get over. AJ put Bryan over the top. They're a Main Event act if they do it right. I think AJ has been just as good as Bryan in her role. They NEED to be together.
I didn't read it. I was waiting for the result to see if it was worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteNow, my Woody Allen impression: I'm a neurotic nerd who likes to sleep with little girls.
ReplyDeleteYou wish!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not like WWE has a documented history of making petty, nonsensical decisions or anything...
ReplyDeleteYou know if Punk really wanted to be cute he could call the chair/elbow drop combo the daughter banger. Cause...well...you know.
ReplyDeleteOn top of a pile of money with many beautiful ladies.
ReplyDeleteHey! That really sucked!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like that's where they're heading, since Cole was dropping hints.
ReplyDeleteI remember that ceremony. Even Mean Gene was like "come on thats just the One Man Gang". (and hindsight being what it is wouldn't a gang member teamed up with a crooked cop been much more badass then a crooked cop and a dancing white african?)
ReplyDeleteFor me, real deal was being such a antagonistic ass that even if I thought he had cogent points I wanted him to shut up.
ReplyDeleteHere's the bottom line for me: I don't care how many buys Dwayne was worth, he didn't entertain me. Plus, two and a half men is the highest rated show on television, McDonalds is the most popular restaurant, Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time. Popularity doesn't indicate quality.
They better not use "Together" as their love song. It was blasphemy when Stephanie and Test used it and it would be blasphemy now!!!
ReplyDelete'Sampsons'?! Is the theme song 'Hey there Delilah' or something?
ReplyDeleteHopefully it involves her ripping her dress to distract Sheamus (like Elizabeth did to distract Ted DiBiase and Andre)
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't have to be slutty. She would just be a desprate girl trying to do anything to get back together with an ex.
ReplyDeleteSo, does this means Cena's dad dies right before the match and he seeks out the Rock to help him train for the rematch?
ReplyDeleteWell, he was in the midst of the biggest push of his career, so I'm not surprised that he worked through the injury. Probably earned him more than a few points with the office, too.
ReplyDeleteIf they were smart they'd have That and then have Brock challenge Rock and destroy him with Cena refusing to throw in the towel. The rematch between Cena and Brock is in South Dakota with on Christmas Day. Cena wins and gets on the mic saying, "when this match started you didn't like me much, but I respect your right to boo me. Never give up!"
ReplyDelete"Dwayne," as you so annoyingly call him, entertained me tremendously, but that's not the point.
ReplyDeleteThat entire thread was about popularity. Chinwins was making the ludicrous argument that Punk was as much responsible for the Mania buyrate as "Dwayne."
ChinWins was an even bigger troll.
ReplyDeleteJames Caldwell just had an epileptic seizure reading this.
ReplyDeleteHuh?
ReplyDeleteShough, with references like these, I feel we should put our differences of opinion aside and maybe buy a loft in upstate New York. Nothing warms my heart like prime Simpsons.
ReplyDeleteGuess you don't read PWTorch.com. James Caldwell is a writer there that drones on and on about the need for an off-season in wrestling, and that guys shouldn't be afraid to take time off to heal.
ReplyDeleteIs it that annoying that I call him Dwayne? I'm happy to stop if it bugs other people. I use it to refer to face Rock, who I feel is just the guy being himself.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't hate the Rock. I just wasn't entertained by him (in this instance, I've liked the Rock other times). I just felt the promos were repetitive and lazy. But difference of opinions. My issue wasn't with the Rock so much as people who acted like anyone who didn't love every second of his run were idiots and that Rock was being watered down to protect Cena. These are points I want to elaborate on when I'm not on an iPhone.
The more important issue is what I think chinwins was saying (and I don't want to put words in the guys mouth) is that it's more of that. ALL of the extra buys were attributed to the Rock. Did the Rock help improve the buy rate? Yes. But the build this year was better with three matches solidly built besides the main event.
Greg, we can adopt a family of opossums. We'll call the big one bitey.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I disagree with him, then.
ReplyDeleteNot so much I disagree with him, just that he brings it up in anything and everything he writes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I would like it more explored how WWE would make up all the lost revenue that would come from taking an off-season.
ReplyDeleteThose are some good examples of low quality/low critical acclaim vs. high revenue, except for Avatar and The Rock-Cena match. You may have not been entertainined by either, but the majority of folks whose opinions count on the matter did (Roger Ebert, Scott Keith, Metzer, Keller). In fact, Rotten Tomatoes "Top Critics" score have Avatar at a 95% consensus of quality.
ReplyDeleteNow, you may say that they don't matter either and who appointed them the critical hierarchy and that's fine, but it's nowhere near the perception of McDonalds or Two and a Half Men. So, you're analogy doesn't work.
I also like the element to it where AJ believes Daniel's a good person even though he's so evil. I think there's some great stories you can go with that because if DB's face pops continue, they'll have no choice but to turn him and AJ can be a big part of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they need to be together. But I don't agree that AJ needs to be in cahoots with everything, swinging chairs at guys or what not. AJ should be a pathetic figure looking to support Daniel, and gets used by Daniel for his own purposes, not an equal plotter that other wrestlers come to hate as well.
ReplyDeleteC'mmon, the greatest build in recent memory was Shawn-UT 2...by far. I mean, it's not even close. That build had years worth of history, had the awesome rumble match and awesome promos by 2 of the biggest stars in the last 25 years and it didn't come close to sniffing the buys. The Trump WM did HUGE buys and really, it was Lashley-Umaga. Rock has INTERNATIONAL appeal. Meltzer said on the observer radio show that Rock is over even bigger in Europe as a movie star and that the reports are saying that a lot of the extra buys are coming from there. Look, admitting Rock was the primary (noticed I didn't say the only) reason for the buy rate is ok, you still don't have to like face Rock. I just don't see how there's much debate on this point.
ReplyDelete"Gentlemen, you've all worked very hard. And in a way, you're all winners. But in another more accurate way, Rock is the winner."
ReplyDeleteLet the backbiting and backstage grousing begin!
No, totally think Rock was the primary factor. Just don't think he was the only factor.
ReplyDeleteHBK, John Cena, Batista, Undertaker, Bobby Lashley, Umaga, even Stone Cold got NO credit for being major players in the (previously) most bought wrestling PPV of all time. All of the credit went to Donald Trump, deservedly so. NO ONE debated it, we all accepted that Trump's mainstream appeal brought in the extra buys.
ReplyDeleteContrast that with WM 21, which I believe when it happened broke the buys record at the time. That was considered more of a group effort. HHH/Batista was built extremely well, but a lot of love was given to some very well built and intriguing undercard matches (HBK/Angle, Orton/Taker, first ever MitB). And a very big assist went to WWE's marketing team, which did a great job selling the show as a big time event.
WM 28's success (just like WM 27's) is the former not latter. Rock deserves all the credit, in the same way Trump did, in the same way Austin/Tyson did for WM 14. I'm sure there were *some* people who were more excited for HBK/Cena or Taker/Kane. But they're the type of people who buy WM every year regardless of what's on the card (within reason). They're part of the ~850k that are guaranteed for Mania every year, before a single match is announced. The extra 450k are the casuals/lapsed fans and they bought it for Rock end of story.
I'm with flair4dagold, we *can't* be having this debate. Rock gets (and deserves) all the credit. If the SoP storyline had been on the Road to WM instead, with the same buzz and mainstream exposure I'd be willing to give Punk some credit (although more goes to Rock even then).
Don't you love how wrestling fans think? "Woman? Heel? SLUUUUUUT!!!!!!" And people wonder why Bryan got cheered for being mean to her.
ReplyDeleteI think Kofi is a great wrestler, but I have to wonder if the ship hasn't sailed with him. He's been spinning his heels in that same card position for years now with rare if any serious feuds or character motivations. He is pretty much just a good go-to babyface JTTS at this point. It sucks based on how talented he is, but if it means a talented wrestler for guys like Bryan and Jericho to beat, well, sorry Kofi.
ReplyDeleteGood work completely missing what I said. I said if anything, Brock had more to do with the increased buyrate than even Punk.
ReplyDeleteI SAID THAT SIX SEPARATE TIMES IN THAT THREAD.
My suggestion was merely that it wasn't ALL Rocky responsible for that buyrate.
Another thing I said EIGHT SEPARATE TIMES IN THAT THREAD.
Keep talking about me though, I fucking love it. =)
<<<<<<333333
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much what it comes down to with that realdeal guy. I don't mind that he had a different opinion, he was just hell bent on headbutting with everyone who disagreed with him and he had to respond to every post that said something he didn't like. I don't mind someone disagreeing with the general consensus, I do mind not being able to read anyone else's thoughts because every one is clogged with a million "Nuh-uh!" posts.
ReplyDeleteI've never liked Primo and haven't seen enough of Epico to have an opinion on him, but goddamn do I enjoy seeing them on TV because that means Rosa gets to wiggle. If they gave her over to ADR she'd make his segments more entertaining, and God knows he needs the help.
ReplyDeleteI didnt think much of it. He muttered in reply 'you're an idiot' which was fine.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the planted YES signs last week.
ReplyDelete+10 for the Herb Kunze reference.
ReplyDeleteYou and realdeal deserve each other.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to the Blog for a few months now, but this realdeal guy's attitude reminds me a lot of dougie2876. Are they the same person?
ReplyDeleteJust returned home from the Smackdown show at the O2 in London earlier. It's absolutely unbelievable how over Bryan is now. People were chanting "YES, YES, YES!" all the way to the Underground station and beyond! North Greenwich Station was full of thousands of people chanting "YES!" Amazing. Orton was over huge as he always is here, as was Big Show. And a quick mention for the Funkasaurus who also got a massive pop.
ReplyDeleteEh, that was more of an in-the-moment type deal. What will you do on his comment in next week's RAW thread?
ReplyDeleteOnly one person's opinion matters on what you think is good. Your own. If you're relying on a critic to tell you what's good or not, after you've already seen it? Get some help.
ReplyDeleteHe's Tito Santana, for better or worse.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they're just fucking with TNA.
ReplyDeleteTNA did enough fucking with TNA on their own. I was part of a semi-notable section of the audience that was told to stop showing up because we didn't cheer the people they wanted us to.
ReplyDeletethe thing that pissed me off the most was that ChinWins clearly doesnt know what trolling means and just uses it when someone doesnt understand something, otherwise it wouldve been a real one-sided fight
ReplyDeleteIm waiting for a run-in by Elvy (he's the 3rd man)
ReplyDeleteThis, plus far too many of us here (well, online in general, really) are hugely in love with our own opinions, to the point of insisting they are actually fact.
ReplyDeleteWithout necroing this particular thread too much, I feel as though most of the primary disagreement is coming from referring to Rock as the only factor contributing to the increased buyrate. Not to sound to obvious, but....well, wasn't he?
ReplyDeleteI think that Flair4dagold says it best - we're not talking about the whole buyrate here, we're talking about the increase in the rate. Shough, you're basically arguing, in my mind, that there was a contribution to said increase beyond the involvement of the Rock, AKA, the better storylines in place for Punk/Jericho, etc.
But I do think that those fall under the veil of 'wrestling storylines' as opposed to the extra-curricular buys that Rock provided. We were all going to buy Wrestlemania anyway, and it is traditionally the most purchased PPV of the year. With buyrates generally trending downward, at least according to WON from what I understand, it would seem that an increased buyrate would have to stem from some sort of action outside of the downward spiraling PPV business. That action is The Rock's appearance.
For the record, I'm not the biggest fan of the Rock either, Shough - I didn't have the main event above ***. (Don't tell Scott, though - I still crave his approval as though he's my own personal Dr. Cox) But I don't think that we can ignore the evidence as it relates to the math. People bought this PPV for the Rock. I don't think it's truly arguable from almost any standpoint.
Now, what I'd like to figure out is the difference between the lack of a large buyrate for the Rock/Cena appearance at SS vs the larger one for Wrestlemania. Was it the event itself? People don't want to see Rock wrestle tags with Cena? Less promotion for SS? What % did Rock bring to SS vs the % he brought in for Wrestlemania, and what can we extrapolate from that? Who the fuck cares about any of this?
I'm glad you brought up Survivor Series because it feeds into a larger point in my mind. People talk about the celebrities contributing to buys but, I don't think that's always )exactly) the case. I think that in years where celebrities had a particularly strong impact on buys (this year, 23, and 14) it was that the celebrity drew them to Raw and a good build made them want to buy the PPV. That's why Survivor Series didn't do a phenomenal buyrate: people tuned in to Raw to see Rock, weren't enamored of the build to watch him in a tag match with a couple of guys who were presented as jobbers, and didn't want to spend the money.
ReplyDeleteBecause what you think means a fuck.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I don't allow people to make thinks up and then insist that I said them.