The SmarK RAW Supershow Rant – 07.23.12
Live from St. Louis, MO
Your hosts are Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross (for one match)
Nice montage to start, featuring RAW wackiness and notable retirements. I think maybe if they paid respect to their past like that more often, rather than mocking themselves or intentionally forgetting their own history, these kind of self-congratulatory shows would seem less obnoxious.
Vince McMahon welcomes us to the show, and brings out D-Generation X, complete with Shawn, HHH, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and X-Pac. Which would actually make the first time ever that all five of them have appeared as D-X. Billy Gunn is very smart to show up in shape since I’m assuming he’s going to be looking for a job. Road Dogg does his spiel, HHH does his, Billy Gunn and Shawn argue over who gets to do the “two words” bit, everyone has a grand old time. Especially X-Pac, who looks like he drank a fifth of SOMETHING before the show. Eh, it’s a celebration, who can blame him? Damien Sandow interrupts, railing against sophomoric and degenerate behavior. D-X talks it over (“You need to wait over there.” “That’s very rude!”) and then Sandow gets destroyed. This was all good fun, although my wife (who didn’t know the D-X guys) pointed out that really it’s kind of an unfair set of choices if your only options are being down with them or sucking it. What if neither one appeals to you?
Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara & Sheamus v. Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho & Dolph Ziggler
I suspect the intros will run longer than the match. JIP after a break with Ziggler working on Sin Cara, and Jericho going to a chinlock. Cara gets a rollup for two, but Jericho dropkicks him down again and gets the ARROGANT COVER~! for two. ADR works on the back and goes to a rear chinlock, but it’s hot tag Sheamus and he destroys Jericho with the usual. Rey disposes of ADR and Sheamus tries to finish Jericho with White Noise, but Jericho reverses out. Sheamus blocks the codebreaker, but Ziggler nails Jericho and Sheamus finishes with the kick at 4:12. This was fine. **
Charlie Sheen joins us live via a webcam from 1997, apparently.
Meanwhile, AJ defends her mental instability by pointing out the wackiness happening in the hallway, including the grown-up hand delivered by Mae Young. That’s a pretty obscure reference these days, actually.
Jack Swagger v. Brodus Clay
I’m going to refrain from comment on the announcers getting Sonic drinks delivered to them, because we don’t have Sonic in Canada anyway. Poor Swagger gets the Curt Hawkins non-entrance. Even Dude Love gets an entrance! Swagger attacks, and he’s done at 0:11. Remember when he was World champion?
Meanwhile, Trish Stratus teaches HHH some yoga tips, and it’s gets awkward.
Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan confers backstage with guys in white coats. This is never mentioned again.
Wedding time! And who else to conduct the ceremony but REVEREND SLICK! His delivery is of course brilliant here, especially when no one objects and he’s amazed because that’s never happened at a wrestling wedding before. But indeed, Vince McMahon interrupts, because he already offered AJ his own proposal…a business proposal to be the new GM of RAW. I’m pretty sure that won’t help me be less sick of AJ. And after the break, Bryan destroys the set and CM Punk comes out to rub it in. Daniel feels that he’s the greatest WWE superstar of all-time, and that brings out the Rock. Bryan cuts off Rock’s spiel, and you just don’t do that. Rock announces that he’s getting a title shot at Royal Rumble, and Punk is just fine with that. NO! I want my dream of Punk Rock ripping up the tag team ranks to live! Bryan feels he’ll be the champion, but Rock calls him the offspring of a homeless lumberjack and an Oompaloompa and finishes with a Rock Bottom. How can you not love that?
Bret Hart joins us as guest ring announcer for some reason. Why not?
Intercontinental title: Christian v. The Miz
Bret’s total no-selling of the Miz’s intro makes the whole thing worthwhile by itself. Christian quickly gets a missile dropkick and tosses Miz, and we take a break. Back with Christian making the comeback and getting a cross-body for two. Sunset flip gets two. Miz boots him down for two. Christian gets a tornado DDT for two. Miz blocks the spear with a DDT for two. Blind charge misses and Christian tries the Killswitch, but the knee gives out and Miz wins the title with the SCF at 5:25. Zero chemistry from these two, but Christian was doing nothing with the belt anyway. *1/2 Miz is now very close to winning a double grand slam, which is kind of scary.
COOHHH returns, but this time he’s ANGRY HHH instead of WACKY HHH. Paul Heyman comes out to give Brock’s answer: No. And then he crosses the line by talking about HHH’s family, which brings out Stephanie for her cameo, looking hotter as she ages. She points out that Heyman is just hiding his failures (WCW, ECW) and his children are ashamed to be fathered by a parasite. This finally makes him snap and accept the challenge for Summerslam, but then he talks shit about the kids again and Steph attacks him. This finally brings out Brock for the attack on HHH, but of course HHH stands tall and clotheslines him out of the ring. And then Sheamus runs in and hits the Brogue Kick! No, sorry, I made that one up.
Heath Slater v. Lita
Man, botox is a hell of a drug. I was betting on Steve Austin, but obviously that didn’t happen due to knee surgery. CM Punk is a lucky, lucky, guy. And just for fun, Lita has hired the APA for protection. Slater makes a run for it, but all his former “victims” chase him back in for a JBL lariat and Litasault to finish. Ron Simmons of course has only one comment on the situation.
SEAN MOONEY makes an unlikely cameo to interview Daniel Bryan. Mooney was a terrible play by play guy but he’s 1000 times better than the goofs they have doing backstage interviews now, they should keep him around again. Bryan threatens Charlie Sheen for some reason.
Meanwhile, Zack Ryder reveals that GTV was all the plan of GENE OKERLUND. I KNEW IT! Sadly, before John Cena can debate this point any further, the Rock arrives and chases Zack off.
Kane v. Six Geeks
The Jinder Mahal-led job squad threatens to attack Kane, but Undertaker makes his return. The idiots helpfully wait for him to do his full entrance, and then the members of the undead pulverize them. Remember last year when Kane was bald and Undertaker had the long greasy hair? The crowd chants “this is awesome”. Have some standards, St. Louis!
WWE title: CM Punk v. John Cena
They battle to a STALEMATE to start and it goes nowhere for the first few minutes until Cena pounds away in the corner and grabs an ANGRY HEADLOCK. They slug it out and Punk gets the running knee, but Cena turns it into the backdrop suplex. Five-knuckle shuffle is blocked by a Punk kick, but the ref is bumped and Cena gets the FU to no avail. This brings out Big Show for a spear on Cena and KO punch, but Punk continues to be a pussy babyface and won’t just pin him. Punk revives the ref, but he’s CONFLICTED by shades of grey. Not fifty of them, luckily, because otherwise this would be TV-MA. Finally Punk gets two and then tries for the GTS, but Cena reverses him into the STF, and Big Show runs in for the DQ at 11:01. Really? That’s the finish they came up with for their big 1000th show? The usual ref bump and DQ screwjob? Show puts the beatdown on Cena, but Rock makes the save…and PUNK TURNS ON HIM. About damn time. I think it’s great that they had to use Rock for Punk’s heel turn, because NO ONE WOULD BOO HIM if he turned on Cena.
The Pulse
This was better than the wretched RAW X in 2002, so by that standard I was happy. There was some nostalgia, people had fun, I was entertained mostly. Plus now I can watch Punk again without feeling disgusted by what a nutless wuss he’s turned into. Three hours is just WAY too long for these shows, though. I’m glad all their build paid off with a monster rating, and I just hope that RAW 1001 and beyond don’t crash and burn again. Oh, and of course they’ll have to start hyping RAW 20 pretty soon, because that’s only 6 months away now too.
I was legitimately happy with the DX reunion. Moreso than I thought I would be. Also Lita was smokin hot.
ReplyDeleteI'll put it out there......I expected a bit of the nostalgic crap, I expected HHH to be his usual self with Brock and while I enjoyed the show overall, I was very surprised they threw the strap on the Miz.
ReplyDeleteI know there is little value in the mid-carder belts these days but that is so argghhhh frustrating. They want to push someone so they just throw a belt on him? He couldn't chase the belt for a month and then pass it on at a PPV so it gives Christian a 'new' program for the next few weeks.
2006 sexbomb Lita is like the standard bearer of trashy hot and 2012 Lita even blew that out of the water. Resign this woman and put her on my TV every week.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if AJ cried when she saw her backstage...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Zack Ryder did more for the US Title when he begged and pleaded for a title shot and then he finally won the title. 2 weeks later he lost it to Swagger who is now just a complete joke. Now Santino has done nothing with the title which easily could have been Ryder holding it for this entire time.
ReplyDeleteSince Wrestlemania, there have been 4 different champions for the IC title with the longest reign at 2 months. Rhodes and Big Show had a nice little feud over the title but now it is a joke again because of all those frequent title changes.
Considering how everyone under the sun hates Michael Cole and considering Ryback's newfound reputation for being a stiff, unsafe worker, maybe WWE should just answer our prayers and book Ryback against Cole already. Can't be any worse than what they've done to Jim Ross.
ReplyDeleteHell, make her Punk's valet. They can add to his heat by having the two gratutiously make out every week. Then when he dumps her (this is CM Punk we're talking about: you know it's going to happen) there will be even MORE heat!
ReplyDeleteNow, if only Lita would start dating some babyface, then when it turns out she's cheating on them with Punk, then he'd get huge buzz for the heel turn! Genius, wonder why nobody's ever done this before.
ReplyDeleteBut in all seriousness, Lita/Punk would wreck.
So if Punk turns full heel, how long till he and Bryan start tag teaming?
ReplyDelete"I think it’s great that they had to use Rock for Punk’s heel turn, because NO ONE WOULD BOO HIM if he turned on Cena."
ReplyDeleteHe was fighting Cena. Hell, the Rock challenged him to a match. How can you turn on someone you're actively competing against? Besides, the Rock waylaid Daniel Bryan earlier in the night just for stepping to him. If Punk had done the same to the Rock during that segment, would THAT have been considered a heel turn?
Lita looked like in the best shape of her life and holy shit she has gotten hotter with age, as has Stephanie McMahon, good lord. I thought Punk's "heel turn" was done in a very wimpy manner (hence the " "); there's nothing wrong with him taking a powder rather than risk getting WMD'd out of his title and he's had beef with Rocky for ages anyway. Coach's heel turn at Summerslam 2003 was more sinister than that, come on.
ReplyDeleteMan, I figured Scott would be going apeshit about the likely Brian/Sheen match...
ReplyDeleteThey could do Punk/Bryan vs AJ/Lita!
ReplyDeleteSheen wold never get through Wellness Policy testing :)
ReplyDeleteHHH needed to rock the denim vest over leather jacket look for the Brock promo.
ReplyDeleteIf they are going to turn a popular character heel, why not Rock? I mean, I'm sure he'd be up to it and God know they've laid the groundwork for it by having Cena call out Rock's hypocrisies. And fuck, they can get some mileage out of Rock sending video messages taunting Punk as being beneath him and the subtext that since Cena can't be Rock, then if Punk does, it means he is better than Cena in that regard!
ReplyDeleteAlso, they should have had Undertaker beat up Big Show to set up an amnesia angle as far as the blows to the head caused by Taker causing Big Show to forget the last two months and resume being a good guy so as to end the whole Cena/Big Show feud that way.....
And hell, I'm sure Rock would be cool giving Punk the final big push needed to make him THE alpha dog in the WWE, especially since it would also let him get revenge on HHH, given what HHH did to try and derail Punk and steal his popularity like he did.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Ryder/US title thing was a massive dropped ball by the WWE ...and the only person who got anything positive from it was Ziggler, which is a gooold thing. Ryder, Santino, Swagger were all pointless for that title when it left Ziggler. ....and now he's going to get squashed by Triple Sheamus either way. US Title is poison.
ReplyDeleteHow amazing would a Lita/Punk/Brian stable be? Or even Punk/Ziggler/Lita ...either way, more Lita.
ReplyDeleteI just couldn't get invested in the end part of the show the way WWE clearly wanted me to. "
ReplyDeletea nutless wuss" is a great description of what Punks character has become, he went from claiming to stand up for people sick of the WWE product and tearing established stars apart in promos to making shitty jokes, hankering after Bryans sloppy seconds and coming out with stupid shit like "I dig crazy chicks". Having Punk get a bit of an edge back does not turn him heel in my opinion since he started his face turn with an unprovoked attack from behind on Cena after a match. People didn't want to boo him then and the people who hate Cena will not boo him now just because he might possibly face Rock in half a years time.
No way Punk gets boo'd against The Rock at Summerslam. Calling on the smarky fans to stand up in the live crowd! ...genuinely interested in how these promos go down. Hopefully a ton of cheap shots!
ReplyDelete"Bryan feels he’ll be the champion, but Rock calls him the offspring of a
ReplyDeletehomeless lumberjack and an Oompaloompa and finishes with a Rock Bottom.
How can you not love that?"
Because it's BULLYING!! Be a star, Rock!
It was a bit hypocritical for Stephanie to cricitise for Heyman's failures at WCW and ECW. It wasn't like she did much better with those companies in 2001.
ReplyDeleteHe could have pointed out the difference between Smackdowns ratings when he was booking and after she took over.
ReplyDeleteRoyal Rumble*
ReplyDeleteI don't think Punk has done a full on heel turn. I think they just gave him his balls back. I see it as more of that tweener type of turn where he's on the cusp of being a heel but not quite fully committed like Shawn was with Hogan in 05.
ReplyDeleteand not to mention Rhodes' reign was one of the longest in years, but he rarely had any notable feuds that were built around the title (and the pursuit of his opponent to get it).
ReplyDeleteit seems like they not only think that giving someone a title while automatically elevate them. in their mind, if the worker just holds on to that title for long enough he will automatically be a big(ger) star (I am pretty sure that's one of the thoughts behind that CM Punk reign. nevermind that he defends his title in the midcard most of the times. well at least he is involved in actual angles and programs *sigh*)
Punk is one of the last guys that should be a long term face. He just seems to work better as a heel, especially with Cult Of Personality as his entrance theme. I'm looking forward to heel Punk.
ReplyDeleteForget the current crop of divas - the WWE certainly did this week - and if you want to have women on Raw every week, make it Lita, Trish and Stephanie. Just to see those three, I would tune in every week and be a happy man. Good lord, I was shocked at how great Stephanie looked.
Santino has "held" the title in exactly the same way that Zack Ryder would have. Why would you think that his holding of the title would be any different?
ReplyDeleteIMO (and this has probably been said a lot over the years ) Punk is very much like Randy Savage but I'm not talking about wrestling ability or look or anything like that. He can be a face and people will cheer because he's awesome in general, but he just works so much better as a heel.
ReplyDeleteThey both had an aura of "dickhead" about them even when they were faces.
Correct me if I'm wrong: CM Punk is the first wrestler to turn heel with the WWE Championship since Macho Man in 88'.
ReplyDeleteWho would have thought 2012 Lita would be hotter than 2012 Trish?
ReplyDeleteNot 2002 pbreathing. Not him.
I know it didn't come as any surprise, but did you notice how JR put over Ziggler, Sheamus and Jericho huge within 30 seconds of sitting down?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, did more for them than Cole/JR/Josh/Booker have done in the last six months, and didn't mention social media once.
No wonder Vince hates him so much.
ReplyDeleteI think all the DX members appeared together onstage the night Foley won the title, but they all turned on Shawn or something that night.
ReplyDeleteI watched the Heyman/HHH & Steph segment...so let me get this straight, HHH can bully & badmouth Heyman, but if Heyman says "your children" for like a second that has crossed the line. But Stephanie has every right to talk about how ashamed of their father Heyman's kids must be, then when he tries to retort she beats him up. AND THEY ARE THE GOOD GUYS?????
ReplyDeleteThis isn't about anti-bullying hypocrisy, I just really really hate when shitty people are treated like the good guys. (and I am only referring to on-screen characters)
There was Shawn's reign in 1996, but that wasn't Shawn turning heel so much as Shawn just being a dick.
ReplyDeletePlus he doesn't swallow like Cole.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there was a period when Shawn was commissioner or GM where he may have appeared on stage with DX. I remember DX mocking him for 'dropping the ball' or something siilar.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the WWE's concept of PG Faces is really skewed. Why should I root for HHH in this feud? They called Heyman/Lesnar a bully but WHY? Plus, everything Heyman said was spot on.
ReplyDeleteWell if Punk starts teaming with Big Blow and insulting the home town football team, I have no use for this. If he rails against the Rock for getting tons of hype for being a part time wrestler and the fans for being stupid enough to buy it, I'm on board.
ReplyDeleteHell, lets double our fun & make it Ryback vs the Raw Announce Team
ReplyDeleteBryan found someone his own size to pick on.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tout.com/m/e530cw
WELL SAID.
ReplyDeleteWhen Shawn got tossed through the car window.
ReplyDeleteLooks like this show drew a 4.0 rating, something that hasn't been done in a long time. I personally don't think the ratings will return to the same numbers they've been doing prior to the change to 3 hours. And again, imo, 3 hours is too long for any weekly program and that includes Raw.
ReplyDeleteAgree wholeheartedly, I made this same point in the live Raw thread...why is it OK for Steph to talk about Heyman's kids, but not vice versa. And more importantly, how is any of this supposed to get me interested in the match (but that's a whole other story).
ReplyDeleteYou know why wrestling is in such a sad, sorry state these days? Witness the Rock, who shows up after three months off without missing so much as a beat in his promo. We know that he brings the good on the microphone, that's not the issue here. The issue here is during the run-in to spare John Cena from a Big Show beatdown. The fire behind Rock's save is just incredible to rewatch, and when he pops up from that spinebuster and starts to hulk out? Holy shit! His intensity completely obliterates anything John Cena can do, for he looks like a little retard when he tries to do his serious face. The Rock is just head and shoulders above anyone else in the promotion, that his greatness inherently makes everyone around him look twice as shitty.
ReplyDeleteexactly
ReplyDeleteWasn't a heel turn in my living room. I was glad to see punk reassert himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. When Rock did that hulk out, I was fired up myself!
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem when you bring in Heyman as a mouthpiece. He's usually right when he's cutting a promo!
ReplyDeleteI know I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like the Rock. I wasn't that enamored of him when he was full time in the Attitude Era and I REALLY don't like him as a PG era baby face. Maybe I just don't like face Rock but he's always come off as a bully and an asshole. I didn't love his segment with Daniel Bryan (except for the way it set up Punk jumping him later. Why should I like Punk and Rock for coming out and dumping on Bryan when, kayfabe, he'd just gotten dumped at the altar?
ReplyDeleteRock's character strikes me as a pander-y asshole and my dislike of him is amplified by the unquestioned praise for him. That doesn't mean I think people have to agree with me, just explaining my distaste for his character.
Brock attacked HHH without provocation and broke his arm. They showed a recap of it right before the segment started.
ReplyDeleteFeed Me Cole!!!
ReplyDeleteI replied to Shough with the same thing, but did you forget Brock attacking Cena and (more importantly) HHH without provocation? He broke HHH's arm for fuck sakes! They even showed a video right before the segment to remind people why Brock is the bad guy.
ReplyDeleteHHH isn't 80s Hogan (who could actually be kind of a dick but that's another point). He's a face with edge so he may do "bad" things, but if you've been watching Brock since he came back NO ONE is going to look at that situation and say "wait, who's the bad guy here?".
Incredulous look.
ReplyDeleteThe Rock, Survivor Series 1998.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. I also feel the Rock is being heavily protected. In the past, any time he shows up and spends consistent time on TV, the fans turn on him and cheer for his opponent. So, now he gets to pop in twice a year, schedule his own title matches, insult people without provocation and look like a face while doing it all - simply because the fans are excited that he is making a visit.
ReplyDeleteI can understand someone not liking present day Rock. He *does* pander to the crowd a lot, and isn't anywhere near as entertaining as he was during his prime. But he's in the same boat for me as a guy like Shawn, who acts like a lame, childish goof a lot of the times (DX from 2006 onwards), but has built up enough goodwill where I let it slide.
ReplyDeleteLike a lot of guys Rock is much better as a heel, but with his part time status and Disney career that's out of the question.
So yeah, I disagree (kinda) with you but understand completely. However, your lack of love for Attitude Rock baffles me. That guy was the MAN, and is only topped by the asshole-y goodness of 2003 Hollywood Rock. I just can't get mad at the guy responsible for that character.
Yes. Without provocation. It wasn't at all provocative when Triple H asked Brock if he was going to take his ball and his loss to John Cena and go home. Why, that was good management and not condescending at all.
ReplyDeleteThe unwritten rules of the WWE Universe basically say that anyone who gets in the ring is asking for a fight. And since he's the busybody COO of the company who had intended to use a sledgehammer on someone's head four weeks earlier, it's ridiculous for fans to root for him.
I thought the press release the WWE said it all - Most viewers for a Raw since 2002.
ReplyDeleteThey used to draw 6 million a week easy. And ratings for almost all other live sports - hockey, football, basketball, maybe not baseball -- have gone up in recent years.
I just hope against hope that when the ratings come crashing down again that CM Punk doesn't get blamed and moved from his spot.
Yeah, I was always irritated with Shawn in the DX reincarnations. Everyone seemed to blame HHH solely for it when Shawn was an equal member.
ReplyDeleteMy current dislike of the Rock is he comes in, does pandering promos that are like mad libs and then leaves. I do love Hollywood Rock from 2003. I just didn't buy attitude era Rock. I thought he was good but I thought his character was an asshole bully so why should I root for him? And I always thought he was VASTLY overrated as a talker. I don't think he's bad but people make him out to be the messiah of the mic. They act like he effortlessly buried people which is just nostalgia.
Also I think Austin Rock was the Beatles Stones of wrestling fandom. I was an Austin guy.
Am I missing something here? I thought the fans at 2 specific shows (WM18 and SSlam02) turned on the guy. I don't recall any other ppvs or tv shows (outside of Raw X but that was a special case) where that happened and yet it's constantly referenced as if he were John Cena-lite. I don't even remember him getting booed in the period between those 2 shows (KOTR, Vengeance, Raw in August). Maybe my Rock-colored glasses are blinding me, but this whole thing appears blown out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteThis was a decent nostalgic show but it was painful sitting through 3 hours of it including non stop commercials. I don't know how they are going to generate interest weekly? I see a major flop awaiting them.
ReplyDeleteThis is comical. Brock was bullying Ace, a retired wrestler who is clearly no match for him physically. He tossed little Josh Matthews around for asking questions. HHH stands up to him face to face, speaks condescendingly to him, then Brock waits for him to turn his back and attacks? And you think it's hard to discern who the heel is in that scenario? Because he's a "busybody"? Because he tried to use a sledgehammer in a No holds barred Cell match at Mania?
ReplyDeleteYou're being blinded by HHHate.
The constant shilling was brutal. Sonic, Charlie Sheen, Skype, Shazam, Guys in their parents basements on tout, trending, twitter, video games, wrestling buddies, did you know, longest weekly episodic program in the history of weekly episodic programs. I'm afraid it's only going to get worse in this three hour format.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that three hours is too long but it is going to work out great for me. DVR starts recording at 8pm, I start the show at 9pm or whenever and just fast forward through the crap.
ReplyDeleteto be fair, I guess due to him being an actual experienced actor nowadays I think he blows just about everyone out of the water, including all time greats like Austin.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I don't even know if I would have considered it a heel turn had Lawler not explicitly stated it was.
ReplyDeleteIf I was running WWE, I would change Ryback's name to Abobo.
ReplyDeleteRatings for sports have gone up, but ratings for regular sitcoms/dramas/reality tv/etc have gone down. I'm sure the WWE's drop is larger % wise than the average but it is something to keep in mind. We live in an age with way more options as well as DVR/Internet. Sports have gone up partially cause they're "DVR-proof". You have to watch them live or not at all.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I watch Raw so soon after it airs is cause I can't wait to come on here and tell all you jerks to LET IT PLAY OUT!
This show dragged so much and it was loaded with nostalgia, I can only imagine what a regular 3 hour show is going to be like!
ReplyDeleteRemember flat-chested Miss Congeniality?
ReplyDeleteKurt Angle in 2002?
ReplyDeleteThose are the two standout examples. But in his feuds with Austin (1999 and early 2001) it was always clear which side the fans were on - admittedly, that is a bit of a different scenario. Even earlier this year, it seemed that the more people saw the Rock, the closer to 50/50 the crowd was becoming in the Cena feud. Of course, Wrestlemania was all Rock. Considering the Rock was only a full time main eventer for about 4 years, outside of his great late 1999-late 2000 face run, his status was never that of an untouchable in terms of popularity. Last night, the fans didn't seem to be that upset when Punk attacked, either.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, it could be my anti-Rock glasses distorting as much as your pro-Rock glasses, but he only seems to really work in small doses in my experience.
The Rock turned in the finals of the tournament. So technically, no.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but this
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cagesideseats.com/2012/7/24/3180744/video-lita-and-the-apa-return-to-complete-the-heath-slater-squash-fest
is not hot. Maybe by "wrestling hot" standards. Yike. I don't know what is with you guys. Trish? Sure. Lita is in okay *shape*, sure. But not hot. Never was.
Mostly agree you have to watch sports live but many Sundays last fall I watched the NFL on DVR, just ignored my phone for a few hours.
ReplyDelete1) The fans became invested in his chase of the belt. However, since he only held it for 2 weeks, fans would be less interested in the next time he or anyone else truly chased any belt. People don't like to invest their energy into something if they feel like they that in 2 weeks, it will be gone.
ReplyDelete2) On his internet show, he really pushed that he wanted that belt; when he finally won the belt, he mentioned it every single chance he got and people could tell he was loving every minute of it.
3) He could have used his show to start or expand on new feuds.
I hope that CM Punk's turn means the end of Cena's stupid spinner belt.
ReplyDeleteAll I'm talking about is the "your children--that's over the line" nonsense.
ReplyDeleteI don't care about the Lesnar stuff. All I'm talking about is the "your children--that's over the line," nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIf I were booking:
ReplyDeleteCM Punk remains the transitional champion for the rest of the year. The Rock wins the title at Royal Rumble 2013.
Somewhere down the line, I have John Cena win the world heavyweight championship. And at Wrestlemania 29 we have Cena / Rock II: Champion vs Champion to unify the titles once and for all.
Austin kinda-sorta turned face as the champ before the Invasion ppv, then turned heel at the Invasion ppv. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteSo let me understand this.
ReplyDeleteWhy exactly does AJ have to choose between becoming RAW GM and marrying Bryan? Why couldn't she marry Bryan and become GM?
Jabber: one of the few wrestling fans who does not care for the rebellious face that hates authority.
ReplyDeleteJabber in 1998:
I can't believe people are rooting for Stone Cold. VINCE IS JUST TRYING TO KEEP HIM IN LINE! HIS CHAMP CAN'T DRINK WATERY BEER!
Jabber in 1999:
I don't see how you people are still rooting for Stone Cold as part owner. IT'S VINCE'S COMPANY. HIS FAMILY SOLD HIM OUT.
Jabber after WrestleMania 2000:
I'm glad Vince helped Triple H win; Rock was just being a bully!
Jabber during WrestleMania X-8:
Why are they cheering Hulk?! He made a smart ass comment after getting his photo taken with The Rock! He's a disrespectful twat!
Jabber after MITB 2011:
CM PUNK HAS NO CONTRACT HE CAN'T BE CHAMPION
You mean that horrible broken arm that seemed magically healed just a short time later at the Mayweather fight? Tragic indeed.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the truly comical thing here is that you casually dismiss the fact that HHH WAS GOING TO HIT THE UNDERTAKER IN THE HEAD WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER. He's a heel for chrissakes!
ReplyDeleteBecause shut up that's why
ReplyDeleteBecause you can't have a wrestler under contract and married to the boss... that would be a clear conflict of interest. He could presumably marry the boss's daughter though....
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to have one world champ but I really don't want that guy to be Cena.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'll ever be rid of that belt. In fact, I think attempts to get rid of it will be like Homer and the free trampoline.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I LOVED The Rock from his time as IC champ in The Nation up until the build to Cena vs Rock this year...
ReplyDeleteHis promos have been garbage. There, I said it. His insults used to have a pizazz to them, he'd just obliterate people with his words, but it wasn't just trash talk--what he said was on-point and cut deep (watch his promos on Booker T or HHH).
Now, it's just like you said SHough, he's just playing fucking mad libs. What exactly is a Kung-Po Bitch, and why should being called that hurt John Cena's feelings and make him want to kick The Rock's ass? I understand that Daniel Bryan is shorter than most wrestlers, but why is he an Oompa-Loompa (I mean c'mon Taz is the Oompa-Loompa--his skin is ORANGE)? Why is calling DB Froto supposed to be insulting? Froto was the freaking HERO in the LOTR trilogy!
Rock's better than this sub-par trash talk. All he does he grab for the low-hanging fruit when he takes digs at people. Oh, Daniel Bryan is short, I'll reference fictional characters who are short with no thought of the context. The Rock from 99/00 would have a field day trash talking present day poseur pussy Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Also, since no one else has said it--Holy Crap did Daniel Bryan take that Rock Bottom perfectly or what! It was like Rock didn't even have to lift him, he was like 6ft in the air immediately like a feather--I bet that impressed The Great One.
Good point.
ReplyDeleteCuz this is great story telling?
ReplyDeleteBetter start it at 1045 to be safe.
ReplyDeleteI also dvr football games. It works pretty well. I tried dvring basketball but it doesn't work as well.
ReplyDeleteI could be misremembering but didn't David Arquette still hold the belt when he turned heel on DDP?
ReplyDeleteRight on. I felt like I was watching the Home Shopping Network. I mean if they are going to hype this stuff, they should just sign Don West.
ReplyDeleteI just watched Rumble 2001, and the fans seemed to slightly favor Rock in the Austin-Rock exchange. The "the fans were 100 percent for Austin" thing is a case of rewriting history by certain Internet folks.
ReplyDeleteIt varied by what area of the country the show was in.
Welp, agree to disagree. The Rock is pretty much my third favorite wrestler ever, and I thought he looked 10 times better than the rest of the roster Monday night, even in his brief appearances.
ReplyDeleteThe AJ as GM thing would have made more sense if either after Vince made the announcement he said that he would only offer AJ the position on the condition that she doesn't marry Bryan or if after the couple said their "I dos" the orderlies from the institution came out to carry AJ to the institution but then Vince comes out to stop it because who will run the show if the new GM was institutionalized.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, AJ did say "yes" during the ceremony although she pointed out she wasn't saying yes to Daniel, so it's possible that they might be married.
It was a fun show.
ReplyDeleteHopefully Punk gets some edge back, though I'll miss him actually getting clean wins.
Rock looked PHENOMENAL in the last segment. So much fire. Electrifying indeed.
I agree.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't a big fan of The Rock during the Attitude Era. I really didn't care that he was leaving to do movies at all, I figured it would open up a spot for others I liked. (It didn't).
ReplyDeleteBut I love him now, but that's more to do with him being the guy to say what I'm thinking. If Mean Gene showed up and said John Cena was a pussy I'd go nuts for him to.
Dude your posts always fucking crack me up.
ReplyDeleteIt was clumsily done but why would AJ want to marry Daniel Bryan? He was a complete asshole to her, oh wait that tends to work on women. Ok, I'm flummoxed.
ReplyDeleteWell yeah, I can see why AJ wouldn't want to marry Bryan. But you'd think she'd have thought that part through sometime before accepting the proposal' and putting on the dress.
ReplyDeleteBecause hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Like Squints kissing the lifeguard, she had been planning this for weeks. *skip skip skip skip*
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the WWE falling is in part a byproduct of a change in TV viewing and the times (the AE hit that f-yeah anything-goes rebellious zeitgeist in the late 90's like South Park and Eminem did). Since I work most nights, though, I do DVR pretty much all my sports.
ReplyDeleteBrock Lesnar won the title as a heel in WMXIX and came back as a face after the brief injury break.
ReplyDeleteSeconded. Nothing he did even remotely said MAKE WAY FOR THE BAD GUY
ReplyDeleteI think we're going to have to... gulp... let this play out.
ReplyDeleteI can see her expanding on her reasoning either on Smackdown or next week's Raw. Say what you want about WWE's tendency to have illogical storylines but AJ/D-Bry is one that *has* made sense at every turn. I challenge anyone to tell me the story hasn't made sense up to this point, going all the way back to last November. You can say it went on too long, took up too much of Raw, featured shitty acting, and denied us a "pure" wrestling feud between Punk and Bryan, but the shit has flowed logically.
Who says Cena has to go over? I know the IWC would be convinced that would have to happen, so to swerve us Rock wins and the next night they vacate the title and announce an Elimination Chamber match for the new title.
ReplyDeleteThis is really something. I've seen some passionate, committed HHHate before, but you're the first guy I've seen who hates the man in real life *so* much that you can't understand if he's playing babyface or heel.
ReplyDeleteYou're telling me if they had made anyone else (Punk, Bryan, Sheamus, anybody) an on-air authority figure and had the exact same scenario you'd see Brock "attacks from behind then hides behind his lawyers" Lesnar as the face and the other guy as the heel?
Wendy Peffercorn? She was pretty legit.
ReplyDeleteYou won me over. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteBattle of the better Rack: Lita or Slater?
ReplyDeleteI wish i had more hands...
depends on where the rumble is next year.
ReplyDeleteBut im all for it.
Dude, I don't know HHH, so how the hell could I hate him?
ReplyDeleteAs for the question of replacing Punk, Bryan or Sheamus as the authority figure if it would produce the same affect...hard to say. What we do know is that for the better part of 13 years HHH has been the bad guy. And we know that Lesnar is a tweener who people love because he's just a badass. I don't know why you think it's so cut-and-dried that HHH goes from being the heel against the Undertaker and trying to cripple him to being the COO and protecting the product from Brock's outrageous demands in, oh...20 days.
Seriously, it takes a monumental leap of logic to just start cheering for HHH when for the past *14* years the authority figure has been a heel and WWE has trained viewers to automatically assume that the rebel who goes against the grain is the one to cheer for.
Stone Cold was way more out of control than Brock. He beat up Vince's family. He beat up police. He barged in Brian Pillman's home. He attacked Vince in an ambulance. And everyone loved him for it. He had no reason to act this way; he was just anti-authority and didn't want to be Vince's puppet. This was seen as acceptable. But what you're basically telling me is that we should have been rooting against Austin all along.
Diesel.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a Mean Gene/Cena feud.
ReplyDeletei was watching a doring/roadkill match from 99 and saw lita like... yup she had no bewbs.
ReplyDeletetelling stories..... dont have to make sense....
ReplyDeleteYou have been here long enough to know this.
asshole. :)
411 has a note about the new NXT champion being crowned, so apparently the show isn't canceled.
ReplyDeleteI'd almost be angry if it was a full out heel turn because it was handled in such a ham-handed way. But, Cena could argue, last year when John Laurinitis came down and tried to screw Punk out of the match, Cena said "not this way", so while as a rational person, I'd call it more self-preservation not to get KNOCKED THE F OUT by the Big Show, I can understand why it would be construed as a heel turn.
ReplyDeleteExcept attacking a guy who was trying to save another guy from being crushed.
ReplyDeleteSo her and Bryan are going to have 8 kids together?
ReplyDeleteNobody swallows like Cole.... or so I've heard.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you ignore all the times Cena was turned heel by the crowd while champion.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm just busting Jabber's balls because I think he's inadvertently making the case for why we never should have rooted for Stone Cold, The Rock, CM Punk, John Cena, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree x1000. I don't think that Punk turned heel. He just took out the Rock. And if he cuts the promo I think he's gonna , which is basically fuck the Rock, I'm CM Punk and i'm the best in the world in this ring every night BECAUSE I'M IN THIS RING EVERY NIGHT, the fans are gonna see him as a face.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'm not really seeing this as big a deal as everyone else is. Unless its a return to the real CM Punk. Punk was awesome last summer and he was supposed to be the heel but it turned him face. I'm not sure we're getting a heel turn so much as we're getting the return of the real CM Punk.
Thirded. He's still CM Punk and the best thing going in the WWE. And Rock is a part-timer... they gotta be careful where they go with this cause I could see a good bit of fans favoring Punk in this.
ReplyDeleteRe: Cena at MitB2011: that's a really good point and I hope they touch on it.
ReplyDeleteI also hope they keep Show away from these 2 and let them feud 1 on 1. This is one time I *want* WWE to do the illogical thing and drop Show from this conflict with no explanation whatsoever.
AFTER he won.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a heel turn in WWE's eyes. Lawler was beating us over the head with it, and Punk did the "Shawn post-Hogan superkick" selljob.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not the heel turn takes remains to be seen.
In a slightly relevant threadjack, word is that WWE may stop blurring out the Attitude Era WWF logo in their DVDs now.
ReplyDeleteWell he at least will definitely get clean wins against Zack Ryder and Santino when he faces them, probably in under a minute even.
ReplyDeleteI fully support your right to marry whomever you choose.
ReplyDeleteI thought she was hot back compared to all the other ECW (with the exception of Dawn Marie) then again most of the other women had implants that looked more like basketballs than breasts.
ReplyDeleteThe World Title is basically the equivalent to the European Title now. It's no where near the level of the WWE Title.
ReplyDeleteBarring a stamped marriage certificate by the county clerk, it doesn't really matter what you say.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I read that too -- that is exciting if it is true!
ReplyDeleteHere is a story on it:
http://www.twnpnews.com/2012/07/why-the-wwf-scratch-logo-wasnt-blurred-on-raw-stephanie-mcmahon-talks/
Wow, no.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. The Rock is simply the lowest common denominator at this point. He spouts nothing but moronic nonsense, but no one will call him on it because he's already won the popularity contest. I couldn't have been happier when Punk left him laying...well actually I could have been if Bryan would have reversed the Bottom into a Yes Lock and left him to get carted out by the real Oompas, but that wasn't going to happen.
ReplyDeleteAgree on the divas was so happy to see Trish and Lita, don't care about Stephanie though. I found it odd we didn't have a diva match at all, thought KK was supposed to return. Did she get lost on her way to the arena, or was she just busy with some of the boys backstage?
ReplyDeleteMaybe HHH has Wolverine style healing abilities?
ReplyDeleteIt'll be exciting to watch big loser Punk need desperate amounts of cheating to even gain a slight advantage during a match.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, the wedding swerve really made no sense. How does AJ becoming GM suddenly stop her from going through with the wedding? It's like they even bothered to say that McMahon offered her the job on the condition that she didn't marry Bryan. Ostensibly, AJ wanted to marry Bryan, and Bryan, no longer having anything to gain from her, genuinely wanted to marry AJ, so what changed with her getting the job offer? And why did she feel the need to perpetrate the charade of a wedding to deliver the big news? I knew they needed some kind of swerve but they could have tried to but the slightest bit of logical thinking into it. I know it the WWE so really they couldn't, but just once they might have tried to resist insulting the intelligence of everyone who pays them an ounce of attention.
ReplyDeleteHe didnt turn heel while champ?
ReplyDeleteI thought when Bret beat him at Survivor Series 95, he was a heel? idk. I was WCW 4 LYFE at the the time.
You were wrong. That was a face vs. face Diesel didn't start teasing a heel turn until after his loss to Bret.
ReplyDeleteTriple H as Undisputed champ, 2002.
ReplyDeleteAh, My bad.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to play my favourite game, which is defending the AJ/Bryan storyline. I think it's been fantastic going all the way back to last November and has flowed logically.
ReplyDeleteI will say that I think this is a perfect case of "Let it play out" (insert BoD laugh track). I can easily see them have AJ explain herself on Smackdown or next week on Raw, using the "Men in white" as part of it.
AJ is crazy but she's not stupid. She recognizes that Bryan treated her like shit and never had true feelings for her. She saw through his attempts to gain an advantage for his WWE title match. So she has every reason to think he had ulterior motives for marrying (like being able to have her committed... which could come up if we LET IT PLAY OUT... ahem). The way she acted, pushing the bouquet back in his face and mocking him with a 'YES' chant made it seem like this was her pulling one over on him after months of getting jerked around by him.
You can say this angle has run too long, been overexposed, featured shitty acting (I disagree with those but I understand the complaints), and deprived us of a "pure" wrestling feud with Punk and Bryan, but you can't say it hasn't made sense.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to go argue with a guy who's calling AJ a shitty actress in one of the other threads...
At the time, I can remember thinking it was an awesome look... then again... I was 17.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I figured too, that she planned this out for months just to get back at him. To quote the IT Crowd: "The BITCH IS CRAZY!"
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping so; it's tough to watch old events as if I had glaucoma.
ReplyDeleteRock lays out Mick Foley (during the Cena build) for no reason = that's cool, man
ReplyDeletePunk lays out Rock for no reason = THE AUDICITY OF THAT MAN!
Never change, WWE.
That's not right. HHH won the title at WM18 and dropped it a month later to Hogan in a face/face match. He didn't turn heel until attacking Shawn in late July/early August.
ReplyDeleteHe did have a reason for laying out Foley.
ReplyDeleteLol no.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Bryan did a fantastic job tonight, second of all, wait for next Raw, Punk is going to blow everyone away.
Have Punk and Cena arguing in the middle of the ring, then have Show come out, both wrestlers stop what they're doing and murder Show then they resume their conversation.
ReplyDeleteHe attacked a guy who was helping his opponent.
ReplyDeleteAs did Punk to Rock, but King wasn't vilifying the Great One back then.
ReplyDeleteWhile Punk's reign has largely been midcard, I think if you're champion for 14 months (November 2011 to January 2013), you're officially beyond being a 'transitional' champ. Fourteen months would be the fourth-longest single reign in the title's history.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't really help the DVDs I already own...
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else find it interesting that they polled their audiences on what match they wanted to see, and twice the WWE got the answer they probably didn't want.
ReplyDeleteFor the title match on Raw, Christian got more votes than Santino, and Layla even got more votes than Santino! Guess the Santino well is dry.
For the Rumble match, more than half the audience would rather see Punk and Rock rather than Cena and Rock. I bet the difference would have been higher in Punk's favor had they not included the stupid option with Big Show.
I always concur that the Rock/Austin who was more over debate is a regional thing. Some people have this impression that Rock was never anywhere near Austin's level but where I lived, people had all but forgotten about Austin by the time he went away in 99 and never started giving a shit again when he came back the next year. It was all about Rock. Of course, where I lived had a heavier ethnic & hip-hop oriented demographic, so it wasn't hard to see how they'd dig him more than a camo-clad redneck driving a 4-wheeler around.
ReplyDeleteFWIW that isn't really personal bias, I always preferred Austin & never thought Rock was as great in the ring as most people do.
Yep!
ReplyDeleteAngle & Benoit were a heel tag team turned face by the crowd (an audience trained to love people just for wrestling good, WTF?). Angle won the title from Big Show as a face at the Dec PPV (even had top face Brock in his corner or something--and Benoit fought Eddie on that show, also as a face), then Angle turned heel on SD that week when he brought Heyman out as his manager. Thus setting up the Benoit vs Angle super duper amazingly awesome jaw dropping cream yourself match I will most likely never watch again at Royal Rumble
1. There was no way to know that the title reign would have only lasted two weeks when it began.
ReplyDelete2 & 3. Santino has his own internet show.
Yes. Now we will have no more Bouncy Babyface Punk. I swear he was becoming Rick Martel circa 1987. And what about that pop for the APA
ReplyDeleteYou mean Hot Topic Cena is gone?
ReplyDeleteBecause Rock being an asshole is his character.
ReplyDeleteYeah but when TNA tells stories that don't make sense, they're the epitome of all that is evil in the world.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this show was Bret no-selling the Miz's intro. I was dying.
ReplyDeleteThe WWE cracks me up. They constantly have guys on TV burying other guys for no reason...no pay off, no draw, no money made, no purpose, just burying guys.
With that said, it cracked me up.
Brandon Stroud from withleather.com nailed my problem with it: And now a promo segment from the magical land of Narnia, where bullies are the people who say mean things to you and not the ones who punch you repeatedly, and mentioning a “man’s family” is instant grounds for dismissal for any lawsuit in the United States court system. Inappropriate Ponytail Theatre, everybody.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, the worst part of a segment like this (and they do them fairly often these days … years, whatever) is that the guy we’re supposed to boo is making a convincing point, and the guy we’re supposed to cheer is acting like a troglodyte. Triple H is being sued by Paul Heyman for assault, so what happens? He threatens to assault him over and over until his wife shows up, balls in purse with her American Gladiators first-leg-of-The-Eliminator walk, to tackle him and punch him a bunch.I just don’t understand why it happens this way. In the WWE Universe, you CAN’T BRING A MAN’S FAMILY INTO THIS, just like the time Triple H didn’t break into Randy Orton’s goddamn house and assault him in front of his wife. “My family” and “troops” are the safe words for WWE babyfaces, and it sucks. You shouldn’t just be able to go YEAH BUT MY FAMILY and excuse everything. Heyman is totally right — Triple H and Stephanie’s kids have the worst role models ever, a mother and father who got married in secret to overthrow their grandfather’s business, then lied about it by saying their dad kidnapped, drugged and raped their mom while taking her to Vegas and marrying her while she was knocked out. Triple H and Stephanie are AWFUL PEOPLE (the characters, not the people) (also awful people) and no amount of verbal threats will change it.Again, this segment should’ve ended with Heyman bashing Stephanie in the head with a cell phone or something and running away, because we’re supposed to hate him and think he’s doing something unfair to the 6-foot-whatever 280 pound guy who is a legendary champion and also runs the entire business. The entire THIS business.
I'm with you on preferring Austin. I grew up in Virginia and always thought Austin was more over.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that Punk says something to the extent of, "Ya Rock, I know what you're going to say: I'm skinny-fat, something about me being straight edge, probably call me gay. But Dwayne, when the single, shaved-down guy who talks about alllll the girls he sleeps with and how big his penis is? Usually he's overcompensating. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I'm a grown up and I don't get my feelings hurt because of gibberish".
ReplyDeleteIt's promos like Monday's Daniel Bryan mad libs that make me think he's phoning it in. It used to be, like you said, Rock being on-point and actually saying something relevant to who he was facing. But really, he could have used troll or Frodo on a LOT of wrestlers. I just get the sense that he's like, "yes, Daniel Bryan has a beard and is short, that is what I will comment on", not anything relevant to the character.
And while we're at it why does Rock just get to waltz in and declare himself the #1 contender at Royal Rumble?
Why did they get rid of the Eagle belt?
ReplyDeleteIt was clumsily done but why would AJ want to marry Daniel Bryan? He was a complete asshole to her, oh wait that tends to work on women Not to start a debate on what was probably a joke, but shit like this is HILARIOUS to me. I used to be a "Nice guy"TM. You know the type, acted like I was the lead in my own romantic comedy hoping that whichever girl I was in to would just love me? Yeah, never got the girl. But you know what I realized? I wasn't really a nice guy. I was an asshole with ulterior motives. Now? I'm honest and forthright with my intentions and hit the gym (down over a hundred pounds!) and developed a striking personality. Girls don't like assholes, they don't like wishy-washy doormats, either.
ReplyDeleteThis might have already been mentioned, but Bret did feud with Miz in 2010, and even won the U.S. Championship from him, so I took the intro as Bret actually selling their feud.. over 2 years later.
ReplyDeleteEither way, more awesome points for Bret.
Best there is, best there was, best there ever will be.
ReplyDeleteKudos on the fantasy Punk promo. It reads in his voice!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I believe A.J. should have something to say about that number 1 contendership!....if she makes it past September...
Yup that was me lol. The silver lining I see is maybe with aj as gm the love triangle is over. The dark cloud I see, MOAR AJ. Now we are getting twenty minute weekly aj promos where she impersonates a bad actor doing a cornball crazy routine.
ReplyDelete"This was all good fun, although my wife (who didn’t know the D-X guys) pointed out that really it’s kind of an unfair set of choices if your only options are being down with them or sucking it. What if neither one appeals to you?"
ReplyDeleteEither option would have appealed to Chyna.
Punk and db can absolutely hang with the rock but that speaks more to how awesome those two are.
ReplyDeleteHa! I also read With Leather. That was actually what motivated me to make my initial comment. Brandon's a good guy, and that dude Chris Trew.biz is my improv teacher
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm saying that Rock is good, but he's not "miles beyond any other wrestler".
ReplyDeleteI don't know why this doesn't have a million likes. Slater's tits need their own thread. He's like '96 HBK with '92 Flair's tits, he doesn't even make sense genetically.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Hart's a humble, non-showy babyface, Miz is the complete opposite, why wouldn't Bret no-sell the intro.
ReplyDeleteAs is Punk's...
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear Punk tear down Rock verbally. Rock will probably get the win and lose the belt to Cena at next year's Mania, but the buildup to Punk vs. Rock will be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWill you teach me the secret handshake of the 10 Likes Club?
ReplyDeletelast person in the club teaches the newb.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I actually applied to write for the WWE (well, for the second time, I tried in '09 but got shook and pulled my app before anything could have happened).
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me most about the WWE is the character motivation. Let's look at Punk's character degradation: he went from voice of the voiceless to wearing HHH's coat to calling Big Johnny an ugly dork. I have no problem with Punk feuding with the authority figure especially if they had used the caveat that Punk hated Big Johnny because Big Johnny wanted a corporate champion and hated Punk. The understated Johnny Ace would have been better than Mr. McMahon IMO.
I just want a face to act like a face. See, for all the talk about how goody-goody Cena is, he's a jerk and a bully at times. Let's look at his recent feuds: he beat up a fifty something retired wrestler and an announcer when he was given the chance to wrestle literally anyone. Had Cena lost to Lesnar he could have gone into MITB with some sympathy: he could have cut a promo about how MITB 11 started the worst year of his life: losing the title, losing to Rock, losing to Lesnar, he could have name-dropped his divorce. And you know what? There would have been sympathy because Cena would have shown vulnerability and consequences.
THE ARROGANT COVER!
ReplyDeleteCOME ON BABY!
I don't know...I don't think anyone can come up with a pithy comeback to "BM Punk"
ReplyDeleteMAYBE they just don't like guys that pretend to be something that they are not?
ReplyDelete" AJ defends her mental instability by pointing out the wackiness happening in the hallway, including the grown-up hand delivered by Mae Young. That’s a pretty obscure reference these days, actually." My friend I was watching with actual said, "I hope they bring out Mae Young's son as a giant hand minutes behore it happened. We were kind of in shock for a few seconds when he strolled by, not knowing if what we saw just actually happened! It was an absolutely crazy coincidence.
ReplyDelete