Hi Scott,
Discussion for the blog:
With the subtle hints that Bully Ray is just using Brooke to get to Hogan and then Hogan to get to the title, if he reveals that he's the mastermind behind A&8's and that everything has been a big swerve just to get them control of the title, do you think that it would make all (or at least some) of the mediocrity worth it? You could actually do some interesting things going forward, such as push Joseph Park to a more prominent position and really explore his moments of aggression. His whole motivation would be that Bully Ray tricked him, which he doesn't like. As simple as that seems, it fits perfectly with Parks' character (though I do fear that with the whole politicking thing, they're in danger of making him a caricature). You'd obviously have some rematch stuff with Hardy, and then maybe Storm could get more involved in the title picture again. I really think having Bully Ray be a strong heel champ till Bound for Glory is doable and make for "compelling television" (to borrow from JR). And then of course who emerges at BfG to set things right? AJ, who finally is allowed to have a title shot again.
And while some people might be thinking, "But what about all of the times Bully Ray got beat down, or when he beat other members down?" In answer to that, I think the simple explanation of "taking one for the team" actually makes everything that much more devious.
Discussion for the blog:
With the subtle hints that Bully Ray is just using Brooke to get to Hogan and then Hogan to get to the title, if he reveals that he's the mastermind behind A&8's and that everything has been a big swerve just to get them control of the title, do you think that it would make all (or at least some) of the mediocrity worth it? You could actually do some interesting things going forward, such as push Joseph Park to a more prominent position and really explore his moments of aggression. His whole motivation would be that Bully Ray tricked him, which he doesn't like. As simple as that seems, it fits perfectly with Parks' character (though I do fear that with the whole politicking thing, they're in danger of making him a caricature). You'd obviously have some rematch stuff with Hardy, and then maybe Storm could get more involved in the title picture again. I really think having Bully Ray be a strong heel champ till Bound for Glory is doable and make for "compelling television" (to borrow from JR). And then of course who emerges at BfG to set things right? AJ, who finally is allowed to have a title shot again.
And while some people might be thinking, "But what about all of the times Bully Ray got beat down, or when he beat other members down?" In answer to that, I think the simple explanation of "taking one for the team" actually makes everything that much more devious.
I think you've pretty much got it nailed, actually. Although I'm still 100% sure that Eric Bischoff is the secret leader of the group, not Bully Ray. Bully would be the Hollywood Hogan type, I'd say, not the mystery masked man. And Bully hasn't really suffered many beatings at the hands of the Aces, either. Really, the problem isn't the angle itself, it's the drawn-out nature and the lack of viable payoffs because all they have is 3rd-string WWE castoffs to put under the masks. If it was someone INTERESTING getting revealed, the angle would still have some juice.