I know that is most likely (I missed 2 matches having a shower yesterday, I shit you not), but I'd like to think the best of them, despite all evidence from recent years.
Television Tho Prop Grops Throps
- Thread starter Big-Red
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I know that is most likely (I missed 2 matches having a shower yesterday, I shit you not), but I'd like to think the best of them, despite all evidence from recent years.
Unfortunately, I can't see John Cena ever turning heel for more then a night... he sells to much merchandise and the WWE only has two other top faces apart from him.
Yep, I agree... and I think he will. Ultimately though I think it makes more sense for The Rock to win at Mania. A loss to The Rock doesn't hurt Cena (hell nothing really hurts Cena) and will give them and Cena a good reason to have the inevitable rematch. If Cena wins though, the story for Rock requesting a rematch isn't as good... as ultimately, a part-time Rock lost to Full-Time "Best in the Company" Cena already, in his hometown no less... why should we think he can beat him again??
I wish I could keep such faith! However any I've had has been totally lost after Kane/Cena/Ryder and this Nattie Neidhart debacle.
An absolutely fecking brilliant promo from Cena.
He seems a bit edgier and not so light and fluffy.
A Cena with attitude would surely be far more popular with the fans.
He seems a bit edgier and not so light and fluffy.
A Cena with attitude would surely be far more popular with the fans.
It wasn't really that good IMO, it's nothing new, it's what Cena has been saying for a while now. He did add the whole "professional wrestling" and the "only here to promote his films" lines but really that was just a rip off of what Punk's been saying. There really was nothing new about what he said, the only difference was that he said it in a slightly different tone. The truth is that he's still stale and that's been the issue for a while now. Unless Cena changes his gimmick, hell he still stay face for all I care, just not the face we're seeing at the moment. The only problem with being booked face is that he's also booked as superman, that just doesn't work in wrestling, why the feck am I supposed to care about his feuds when he's not only the good guy but he's also dominating the shit out of it?
Take Survivor series as a case in point, Team Bring it vs. Awesome Truth, how did they book that? By having Cena single handedly beat down Miz and Truth on the RAW before the PPV, come on now, be serious WWE, no one wants to cheer the dominant face, it's absurd.
Look at Zack Ryder, the ultimate underdog, the fans really got behind him, why? Because there really was a mountain for him to climb!
I understand that the WWE needs a face, a superhero, but the same superhero how half a decade? Give me a fecking break.
I think they wanted a series of three. I wouldn't be surprised by the end if roles have flipped and Cena's a heel by the third match. I understand the merchandise argument, but honestly how much shit can you possibly buy? (Keep in mind that's coming from someone who hasn't paid WWE a single cent for anything.)
Hmm, pretty good RAW this time around.
Cena's promo felt like it had some real venom behind it. I normally find his promos dull and pandering to the crowd but bar the apologies in between, I thought it was a great speech.
At first I was really excited when The Rock (hereon referred to as Dwayne) came back but the more I thought about it, the more it has disappointed. He just comes and goes as he pleases as long as it fits with his filming schedule, and cuts a promo. Tbh I thought his first promos on return were pretty crap (I remember saying earlier in this thread that he'd become a 'mockery of himself.')
I'm not the biggest Cena fan (I was shouting 'Cena Sucks!' nice and loud at the live event I went to) but I hope WWE book him to win. He should win. I think it would be extremely unfair to have Dwayne win, although there are rumours that he will be wrestling at Summerslam so perhaps they'll continue that feud.
Anyway enough about those two. HHH vs. Undertaker hell in a cell. That should be an absolute belter of a match. Undertaker pedigreed through the ceiling and/or HHH chokeslammed through?? Many possibilities with this one and considering this will probably be Taker's last he must go all out. Very nice promo he cut too. I'm also a massive fan of HHH's promos, he's so natural on the mic.
Jericho vs. Punk = Best match in the world to be. To have Jericho win the Battle Royale was a bit contrived, and not even cleanly at that! But hey, at least the match is set.
Team Johnny vs Team Teddy: LIKE.
Eve. LOL. Please take acting lessons. Hot as feck though.
I hope that when Zach Ryder returns they give him a clean win for the US title. After having finally given him the push then demoting him to a pawn in the Cena/Kane bullcrap story is a pretty big insult and not deserved.
I'll add more later when I can think of anything.
Cena's promo felt like it had some real venom behind it. I normally find his promos dull and pandering to the crowd but bar the apologies in between, I thought it was a great speech.
At first I was really excited when The Rock (hereon referred to as Dwayne) came back but the more I thought about it, the more it has disappointed. He just comes and goes as he pleases as long as it fits with his filming schedule, and cuts a promo. Tbh I thought his first promos on return were pretty crap (I remember saying earlier in this thread that he'd become a 'mockery of himself.')
I'm not the biggest Cena fan (I was shouting 'Cena Sucks!' nice and loud at the live event I went to) but I hope WWE book him to win. He should win. I think it would be extremely unfair to have Dwayne win, although there are rumours that he will be wrestling at Summerslam so perhaps they'll continue that feud.
Anyway enough about those two. HHH vs. Undertaker hell in a cell. That should be an absolute belter of a match. Undertaker pedigreed through the ceiling and/or HHH chokeslammed through?? Many possibilities with this one and considering this will probably be Taker's last he must go all out. Very nice promo he cut too. I'm also a massive fan of HHH's promos, he's so natural on the mic.
Jericho vs. Punk = Best match in the world to be. To have Jericho win the Battle Royale was a bit contrived, and not even cleanly at that! But hey, at least the match is set.
Team Johnny vs Team Teddy: LIKE.
Eve. LOL. Please take acting lessons. Hot as feck though.
I hope that when Zach Ryder returns they give him a clean win for the US title. After having finally given him the push then demoting him to a pawn in the Cena/Kane bullcrap story is a pretty big insult and not deserved.
I'll add more later when I can think of anything.
he is brilliantRetweeted it and got some chris brown male fans throwing their man bags at me
The responses from Chris Brown fans make me sad.
haha, CM Punk, legend!
WWE need to stop promoting Chris Brown.
Unless they're going to have somebody absolutely tear into him.
Unless they're going to have somebody absolutely tear into him.
Well said, I too loved the Rock but now he's just too far up his own arse its embarrassing. Boots to asses is fecking lame. He'll come back next week and no doubt tell Cena how "only kids love you", his only comeback to everything Cena has said.
The thing that began my Rock hatred was something he said a while back, he was cutting a promo and said to Cena "I paved the way for Wrestlers in Hollywood". Like thats the fecking goal of being a wrestler - to make it into Hollywood. He's a complete narcissist, he sucked at Wrestlemania so bad last year.
Also this is the last few Wrestlemania buyrates including last year which Rock featured
WrestleMania 23 - 1,250,000 (Highest Buyrate Record)
WrestleMania XXIV - 1,041,000
WrestleMania XXV - 960,000
WrestleMania XXVI - 885,000
WrestleMania XXVII - 1,042,000
As you can see he didn't actually make that big of a difference. Oh and his movies fecking suck. It's all very well making money from them but nobody will be talking about Dwayne Johnson being a cinema legend in 50 years time.
And he still gets cheered for saying these things. The hype videos for this match have shown Cena working for WWE constantly, and how he's doing all that work for charity. Rock's videos have shown him making movies and riding about in a limousine. Rock's supposed to be the "face" in this feud?
I put "face" in inverted commas, because I have absolutely no idea why we're supposed to be cheering for The Rock here. I mean, I've tried looking at it through the eyes of just being a fan, not a guy on the internet who knows it's all fake, but through the eyes of somebody pretending it's real, looking at it using "WWE Logic," if you will ((c) Dusty Rhodes), and I still don't get why I'd want to cheer The Rock.
Do I expect Rock to be working every week for WWE? Of course I don't, he has a new career now, and it's great that he's found success in it. My problem isn't with the fact that he "brings it via satellite" (when he can be bothered to bring it), but with the fact that he seems to think that he's doing WWE, and by extension the "WWE Universe" a favour by coming back for these sporadic appearances. My problem is with the fact that he's had not one, but two (maybe three) Wrestlemania's focused on him despite not being a full-time wrestler. The argument is that he's given enough to the business to earn that. Bullshit. Hulk Hogan propelled professional wrestling into the mainstream, and yes he was given huge billing as a wrestler, but that was when he WAS A WRESTLER though. Hulk Hogan never came back after years of being away as a movie star and made the show all about him. No wrestler, be it Hogan, Rock, Austin, Hart, or the zombie corpse of Giant Haystacks should have the biggest show of the year dedicated to them twice when they're not active in the business.
To be honest, that was one of the things that irritated me about Wrestlemania 27. It was all about The Rock vs. John Cena in terms of "what's The Rock going to do in the main event between Cena and...whatshisname?" All whilst Miz stood around in the background holding some gold belt thing. This year we have CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for one title, Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for another, and they're both going to be overshadowed by The Rock, in his first "match" since November (not that you can call his participation at Survivor Series "having a match," considering Cena did all the work). There's a danger that The Undertaker vs. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match is going to be overshadowed by this match, when really that should be THE focus, given the history of both men.
If The Rock came out next week and said "you know what Cena? I am never there, because I have better things to be doing with my time. I'm a movie star now," and revert to his Hollywood Rock gimmick, then that would be amazing. Firstly because that character was brilliant, and secondly because that's pretty much was he IS now. It just makes sense. I know it won't make a blind bit of difference to what happens in Miami, he'll get cheered and Cena will get booed, but it at least makes the feud and his participation in it make sense, rather than being just "I'M NEVER HERE, CHEER ME ANYWAY, YOU HAVE A VAGINA, GAYJOKE, IF YA SAMEEEEEEEELLLL..."
This post turned out to be much more of a rant than I had initially intended.
A 17% increase is a pretty big difference. I get everything you're saying about his narcissism (though I think the "pave the way" line was more about giving wrestlers options than claiming it should be the end goal) but his surprise appearance last year did get a lot of people excited and did get a lot of people watching WWE again in general. In fact it's what led to this thread starting. I think it's idiotic that they've scheduled this match a year in advance, but if the booking happened around this time of year, it would be all we're talking about. The fact that it's dragged on is why most of us have been sick of everything.
Don't get me wrong. I'm sick to death of all this, and if this weren't in Miami I'd even make this match the fourth "main event". I'm far more excited about the other three matches and I just want the rest of this circus to go away. That said if it leads to something new with Cena, I'd probably say it's all worth it in the end.
Which is also, always the same. It's why building this up for a year was pretty lame in one way.....but better at well yeah, making sure everyone knew about it.
I just watched some highlights of Raw last night on youtube and I have to say, I'm no great Cena lover, but that was a very good promo he did. I liked Cena back when he had a bit of edge and attitude to him. Then, like a lot of others, he started to bore me with his Superman character.
I do love The Rock, I've been a fan of his for 14 years but I do agree somewhat with things that people have said about him. Who do I want to win at Mania? I'll still go with Rock on this one.
But my main interest is Taker v HHH. Their segment on Raw was brilliant. Bring HBK back into the mix and it'll be even better. I hate to say this, but I think Taker's streak will end this time around.
I do love The Rock, I've been a fan of his for 14 years but I do agree somewhat with things that people have said about him. Who do I want to win at Mania? I'll still go with Rock on this one.
But my main interest is Taker v HHH. Their segment on Raw was brilliant. Bring HBK back into the mix and it'll be even better. I hate to say this, but I think Taker's streak will end this time around.
He made a massive difference! It was the first time in 3 years that WWE reached their target of over a million buys for 'Mania, and in-turn the first time in 3 years that any of their PPV's had over a million buys... so job done Rock.
His presence at this years Mania will mean that WWE will, once again, acheive their target... the strong undercard may make it one of the most bought PPVs since the Attitude Era. Like it or not, The Rock is getting more people watching wrestling, and how any fan can see that as being a bad thing I do not know... and how any wrestler on the card can moan about it mystifys me even more.
Also, he did pave the way for wrestlers into Hollywood?? I'm not sure what's bad about that... how many wrestlers have appeared in movies now?? A fair few... and I doubt half as many would if it wasn't for the success of The Rock. It's not as if he said that was the goal of wrestling... he was just stating a fact. You could argue that WWE built an entire film division based soley on The Rock...
Also, did you see Fast 5?? That was one entertaining as feck movie...
I don't understand this whole "paved the way to hollywood" thing. It's almost like everyone likes to pretend Mr. T was never a wrestler.
Or Hulk Hogan... but I think he's refering to modern day wrestlers, and WWE doing their movies and what not.
Just watched Smackdown finished. Pretty average show with a great main event between Punk and Bryan. They also pushed the Punk/Chris Brown thing heavily... Jericho who?
Good rant.
Nah Cena's been more versatile, he's been serious and told some jokes, he's talked about being there all the time, he's defended his fanbase and said he has no issue with it, questioned why The Rock does. Where as the Rock hasn't really moved away from "Kids love you, men love me, you have a pussy, I put my boot to your ass, I'm trending on twitter". STFU.
It went up but the way he and other people carry on you'd think WWE pulled in a few million more, he wasn't there at WM 23,24,25 and they all pulled in equal or similar buyrates and we're talking only a few years ago.
He didnt pave the way for Wrestlers, as someone already said Hogan did that. Goldberg, Triple H, Austin all starred in mainstream Hollywood movies before the Rock fecked off full time.
And this
It's the sort of thing Dwayne Johnson probably thinks which is just the problem. And as far as FAF5, if you throw enough shit on a wall, some of it will stick.
That would hold some weight if he himself didn't quit wrestling in his prime and feck off to do movies.
Not sure if its been mentioned in here, but the Rock has signed to appear at Wrestlemania 29 next year
He's also signed on to do Fast 6 and Fast 7 amongst other films, so not expecting things to change after Wrestlemania.
Mr T was a tv and film star before joining the WWF mate.
Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan both "paved the way" before the bloody Rock.
Well wrestlings been on a down turn since WM25... PPVs do less money and RAW ratings arn't as high... so for Mania to get back to above 1 million buys is a great thing for WWE. As I say, I wouldn't be suprised if they break their record with this years...
As for the movies thing, sure other wrestlers from this generation appeared in movies... but they were never the "star" of the film, and didn't have them built around them in the way films are built around The Rock, and he is the star of the show. I assume that's what he refering to anyway, like I assume he's refering to current WWE wrestlers. But yeah, I can see why he's proud of his film career, because ultimately he's done very well in Hollywood... I don't think he needs to constantly bring it up in his promos though... but then again, I imagine Vince probably encourages him to mention it.
Ultimately, The Rock being the main attraction at Mania comes down to what the majority of people want... and a LOT of people want to see Rock vs. Cena at Mania, and a lot of people will pay to see it. For this to happen, we have to accept Rock will only be able to appear sparringly, that's just the way it is. It's the main event that the majority of fare-weather fans, and some internet fans too, want to see... considering the rest of the card includes HHH vs. Taker in a HIAC, Jericho vs. Punk, and Bryan in a WHC match... there really is something for everyone on this card. If the promotion for the even is centered around The Rock, so what?? That doesn't mean these matches won't take place.... it's just the marketing strategy that will give the WWE the best promotion possible going into the event.
When did this Chris Brown thing start?
First heard of it on Smackdown.. watching it now.
At first I thought it was a gimmick and he was going to guest host at some point... but just saw the Punk vid. A bit strong for a joke.
First heard of it on Smackdown.. watching it now.
At first I thought it was a gimmick and he was going to guest host at some point... but just saw the Punk vid. A bit strong for a joke.
That would make for one hell of a promo, I hope he cuts promos where he threatens Jericho, Punk knows how to threaten a man.
I meant content wise, but I guess the tone is quite good as well, I mean he will have mi.. Oh, I see, you're just taking the piss. Funny stuff.What by talking very quietly at a camera so it's hard to hear.
I was serius, could hardly hear anything on that vid,. Now if Punk and the WWE can get a chant going with the crowd, one that just happens to get into the zeitgeist whenever chis brown takes the stage anywhere, that would be funny. Something simple, like chicken, or , yellow or so on.
Oh right I see, I thought you were trying to be too clever by pointing out the way Jericho and Punk deliver promos.. Maybe I read too much it.
That would be good yeah, it should be something witty though, not something blatant like "woman beater"
That would be good yeah, it should be something witty though, not something blatant like "woman beater"
I justlike the idea of a rapper, no matter where he goes, being greeted by chants of 'Chicken!' or 'Yella!'. Imagine it, everywhere, him getting pissed off, as his career goes down the pan, Bwahhahahahaha!
WWE is absolutely not going to get anywhere near any sort of publicizing of anything related to Chris Brown. Why? I'll give you a hint: Look at gambit's image.
Yeah they need to stay as far away from this as possible if this is a personal thing from Punk.
But they already have, they've already spoken about punk and brown on smackdown, painting punk as the defender of all things good.
You can tell that Vince has heard about it and thought to himself that he could make some real money from it, Probably even pressurising Punk into making the video.
Good RAW I thought, the only match I fast forwarded was the divas match as always, and Eve.
Punk referencing Chris Brown again, let's see where they go with that. Him and Bryan are having some great matches as well.
Ziggler continues to take some big hits, Lawler 'he should rack up air miles from that flight' and enjoyed seeing R Truth in form.
Rocky started off slow, I thought it picked up towards the end, I know they've got him doing the whole Twitter thing as part of his character but it does annoy me, Rocky "trending worldwide" Cole "number one topic on Twitter right now" I don't care about Twitter.
I'd be interested to find out how much of these promos IS actually real. Whether these guys clap each other on the back when they go backstage, how much of Rockys never there character and the way he comes across is scripted, or how much leeway they are given vs how much of the promos are scripted... but both sides making points, yes Cena is always there, yes Rock is never there, yes nobody expects the Rock to always be there but a little bit more would be nice, yes we are sick of seeing Cena all the time, all the jibes don't mean anything until they actually start competing. Cena wrestles, Rock entertains. You can moan all you like about the Rock but he comes out and the arena chants his name, he gives them what they want and that's why WWE brought him back.
Overall a good RAW. I'm guessing the 10am ET announcement is that both GMs will be suspended.
Punk referencing Chris Brown again, let's see where they go with that. Him and Bryan are having some great matches as well.
Ziggler continues to take some big hits, Lawler 'he should rack up air miles from that flight' and enjoyed seeing R Truth in form.
Rocky started off slow, I thought it picked up towards the end, I know they've got him doing the whole Twitter thing as part of his character but it does annoy me, Rocky "trending worldwide" Cole "number one topic on Twitter right now" I don't care about Twitter.
I'd be interested to find out how much of these promos IS actually real. Whether these guys clap each other on the back when they go backstage, how much of Rockys never there character and the way he comes across is scripted, or how much leeway they are given vs how much of the promos are scripted... but both sides making points, yes Cena is always there, yes Rock is never there, yes nobody expects the Rock to always be there but a little bit more would be nice, yes we are sick of seeing Cena all the time, all the jibes don't mean anything until they actually start competing. Cena wrestles, Rock entertains. You can moan all you like about the Rock but he comes out and the arena chants his name, he gives them what they want and that's why WWE brought him back.
Overall a good RAW. I'm guessing the 10am ET announcement is that both GMs will be suspended.
Good Raw I thought...
- Excellent opening promo with Jericho and Punk. Covered a lot of ground, got a lot of points across and gave the match at Mania some good meaning.
- Punk vs. Bryan was probably the worst encounter they've had out of the 3 so far... but that's by no mean saying it was a bad thing.
- Another excellent Taker/HHH video... that match is getting some great build.
- I really really enjoyed the Tag Match for what it was... and for more then just Rosa Mendes. Good in-ring action, fast paced, and a good win for Primo and Epico, who deserved it.
- Not a fan of Kane coming out and destroying everyone though... predictably drab.
- Mark Henry jobbing in under a minute? Not cool man
- Enjoyed the Rock's promo... but hey, I'm a massive Rock mark. Stepped up a gear when Cena came out tho. Really excellent promo from Cena, better then last weeks effort I thought... actually out-talked The Rock. Needless to say, I'm rather looking forward to their match.
Overall, about a 7.5/10 show...
- Excellent opening promo with Jericho and Punk. Covered a lot of ground, got a lot of points across and gave the match at Mania some good meaning.
- Punk vs. Bryan was probably the worst encounter they've had out of the 3 so far... but that's by no mean saying it was a bad thing.
- Another excellent Taker/HHH video... that match is getting some great build.
- I really really enjoyed the Tag Match for what it was... and for more then just Rosa Mendes. Good in-ring action, fast paced, and a good win for Primo and Epico, who deserved it.
- Not a fan of Kane coming out and destroying everyone though... predictably drab.
- Mark Henry jobbing in under a minute? Not cool man
- Enjoyed the Rock's promo... but hey, I'm a massive Rock mark. Stepped up a gear when Cena came out tho. Really excellent promo from Cena, better then last weeks effort I thought... actually out-talked The Rock. Needless to say, I'm rather looking forward to their match.
Overall, about a 7.5/10 show...
After reading how Raw progressed, I think the card is shaping up something like this:
Cena V Rock
HIAC
Undertaker V Triple H
WWE Title
CM Punk V Chris Jericho
WHC Match
Sheamus V Daniel Bryan V Randy Orton (I think Orton will be added somehow)
Tag Team Title Match
Dolph & Swagger V Primo & Epico V R-Truth & Kofi Kingston V Kane & Miz
(Can see this team forming off the back of Miz wanting to be on the card as his promo said, and Kane's attack on the "Tag Division" last night.)
Raw (John Laurinitis) V SmackDown (Teddy Long)
Mark Henry, Christian, Alberto Del Rio and David Otunga
V
Santino, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre and Great Khali????
IC Title
Cody Rhodes V Big Show
Divas Title
Eve Torres V Beth Pheonix???
Cena V Rock
HIAC
Undertaker V Triple H
WWE Title
CM Punk V Chris Jericho
WHC Match
Sheamus V Daniel Bryan V Randy Orton (I think Orton will be added somehow)
Tag Team Title Match
Dolph & Swagger V Primo & Epico V R-Truth & Kofi Kingston V Kane & Miz
(Can see this team forming off the back of Miz wanting to be on the card as his promo said, and Kane's attack on the "Tag Division" last night.)
Raw (John Laurinitis) V SmackDown (Teddy Long)
Mark Henry, Christian, Alberto Del Rio and David Otunga
V
Santino, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre and Great Khali????
IC Title
Cody Rhodes V Big Show
Divas Title
Eve Torres V Beth Pheonix???
It would make literally no sense to have Kane parter up with anybody at this point... so, as this is the WWE Creative, you'll probably be proved right and partner up with someone.
I hope Orton gets added to the WHC match... Sheamus vs. Bryan is just not gathering steam at all at the moment, and is going to drag well behind the other 3 big matches if it doesn't get a bit of star power added to the mix. Whilst Sheamus vs. Bryan would be a good match, and be "pure" in terms of the Rumble winner facing the champion... it might become an afterthought, and the added star power of Orton should prevent that from happening.
Also, Zach Ryder will probably find his way onto the card somewhere...
Anyway, the "hot topic" from RAW is apparently this "notes on wrist" thing from The Rock...
Seemed to really piss off Rock when Cena mentioned it... and he stumbled over a few of his words at the end as he seemed to be quite riled up.
My question is though, are notes on a wrist, when you're doing a 20minute promo, really a bad thing??
I hope Orton gets added to the WHC match... Sheamus vs. Bryan is just not gathering steam at all at the moment, and is going to drag well behind the other 3 big matches if it doesn't get a bit of star power added to the mix. Whilst Sheamus vs. Bryan would be a good match, and be "pure" in terms of the Rumble winner facing the champion... it might become an afterthought, and the added star power of Orton should prevent that from happening.
Also, Zach Ryder will probably find his way onto the card somewhere...
Anyway, the "hot topic" from RAW is apparently this "notes on wrist" thing from The Rock...
Seemed to really piss off Rock when Cena mentioned it... and he stumbled over a few of his words at the end as he seemed to be quite riled up.
My question is though, are notes on a wrist, when you're doing a 20minute promo, really a bad thing??