Television Tho Prop Grops Throps

The people booing Reigns won't have any effect on him whatsoever, no matter what they do. Doesn't matter that they boo, they still turn up, pay for tickets and spend money and it doesn't affect the fans who do like Roman Reigns. The worst they could do is stop turning up, stop watching, stop buying stuff but then the WWE will probably see it as the other guys failing to do their job. AJ styles, Balor, Owens, Cesaro, Rollins etc. those guys are there to bring in the 'smark' fans and older fans and make sure they buy their stuff. Roman Reigns' job is to bring in the kids and sell crap to them, and the kids like the good guy who wins. Unless those kids stop liking Reigns, nothing is going to change.

It's a system that as far as WWE is concerned, works. The aim isn't to make the most amount of money or the best product, it's to make enough money to function and still allow Vince to carry out his vision of what he wants pro wrestling to be. Vince wants Roman to be on top and it's sustainable so nothing is going to change that. Those fans can boo, they can do nothing, they can even start to leave but that won't change those kids cheering for him and they'll keep on cheering as long as Reigns keeps on winning.
 
I hope they keep building up Braun as this smarter monster instead of being a dumb brute. I also enjoy the fact that he's the biggest babyface right now, and outside of kayfabe: How much he's inproved over the last year. Off the screen he's quite likable.

Tozawa and Apollo! Yes!

Get Nia out of that weird suit. Please.

I'm not sure if you guys know, but this is the first time Jeff Hardy and Cesaro ever had a match?!!!!

Looks like the ref took the worst of that Ring break, he bounced pretty nicely.
 
The face of Jericho, frame it in maaaaaaaaaaan:drool::drool::lol::lol:

Still the only one who can make that dead crowd cheer someone. I love Jericho:drool:
 
I like what they're doing with Braun but I bet he gets beat clean again at Payback... which would be annoying.

Jericho is still the man! Frame it in maaaan :lol:

Like that TJ Perkins is winning again.

Women's division is starting to look fresh, which is nice.
 
Gambit said:
No, you're not giving them enough. The reaction on RAW after Wrestlemania to Reigns is music to their and McMahons ears. I know a cameraman who worked for them for 2 years and he was blown away by how in depth and on the button they are especially when it came to manipulating the fans emotions. Got to remember they've been doing it for decades now. What they don't want is silence. Boos, hatred, cheers, chants, anything that shows an emotional connection and engagement to a character or story line is what they're after. Silence is the killer for them. It shows the crowd don't give a shit.
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I don't go along with your theory though, Reigns isn't in his current position by choice, this wasn't some mastermind McMahon creation, if it was upto Vince he'd be getting cheered every week ala Cena, it's just that the fans are having none of it. What gives it away is the commentary team when they say something like 'these wacky fans are cheering the bad guys and booing the good guys tonight! You don't usually see that'.

On top of that up until Mania they heavily dub the audio to drown out the RR boos, they finally acknowledge the fans don't like him but Vince being Vince is adamant on pushing his golden boy and that's the position we're in.

The fact that he's got completely no character is where the grey area comes in, he can't cut a promo either way face or heel because nobody wants to give him a minute in his current spot, WWE want him as a bass ass face but he can't pull it off and he gets bood every week but they won't pull the trigger on turning heel so he's in limbo, it's hilarious honestly.

The best thing RR did was fail his wellness policy test and lose a few matches following his return, that's the only thing I've enjoyed watching every time he's in and around the main event I lose all interest, his character, his look, his music, his move set everything about the guy is so mediocre it's unreal.
 
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Castia said:
I don't go along with your theory though, Reigns isn't in his current position by choice, this wasn't some mastermind McMahon creation, if it was upto Vince he'd be getting cheered every week ala Cena, it's just that the fans are having none of it. What gives it away is the commentary team when they say something like 'these wacky fans are cheering the bad guys and booing the good guys tonight! You don't usually see that'.

On top of that up until Mania they heavily dub the audio to drown out the RR boos, they finally acknowledge the fans don't like him but Vince being Vince is adamant on pushing his golden boy and that's the position we're in.

The fact that he's got completely no character is where the grey area comes in, he can't cut a promo either way face or heel because nobody wants to give him a minute in his current spot, WWE want him as a bass ass face but he can't pull it off and he gets bood every week but they won't pull the trigger on turning heel so he's in limbo, it's hilarious honestly.

The best thing RR did was fail his wellness policy test and lose a few matches following his return, that's the only thing I've enjoyed watching every time he's in and around the main event I lose all interest, his character, his look, his music, his move set everything about the guy is so mediocre it's unreal.
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That's what I tried to explain.

This isn't some master plan to create a baby face heel.

It's exactly the same thing that Vince tried to do with Lex Luger. Push him to the moon and then think the fans will embrace it. They are now trying to garner sympathy for Reigns by having him beatdown by Braun. But the only thing this has achieved is to make Braun look even better to the fans with the amazing work he has done since the feud started. A Reigns superhero win in this feud will just make him look even worse. This is just terrible booking all round and they are doing Reigns no favours.
 
I'm not even going to attempt to lie, I'm genuinely shocked at how well Strowman has done over the last 6-12 months. Honestly felt he would struggle to get over when he first arrived for the Wyatt family but they've really done a brilliant job booking him and he's done a fantastic job taking the chances they've given him. One of the biggest dudes who is also agile in the ring, he's just nailing it right now, even cutting good promos. I really hope they don't mess it up and have him either lose to Reigns again (and I have nothing against Reigns like a lot do) or have Lesnar tear through him. Keep this guy strong because it's working ridiculously well right now. He looks great now, imagine how much higher he'd go if he went up against Lesnar and beat him?

Elsewhere, my fears that I spoke about on here the night after The Hardy's returned seem to be true. They've stripped away everything that made them (well, Matt in particular) great. They've stripped away almost all of the character development Matt had made to become one of the most interesting things in the business. They're now basically generic Hardy's. And the buzz is there right now, sure. But give it a few months like this and they'll be straight in the same boat as so many others teams where they're just another team in the mix with no real character development or no real reason to get excited. Some may not get or even like the Broken Matt stuff for how over the top it is but the reality is they're fecking up a great thing for absolutely no reason. It's bizarre. They've basically seen something that's got over and taken it so that nobody else can use/have it and then stripped away everything that made that thing great. Nostalgia is great and all while it lasts but I don't tune it on a weekly basis to watch a 1999 version of The Hardy's. Bring back the bizarre and over the top Broken stuff because people will eat it up.
 
JP77 said:
I'm not even going to attempt to lie, I'm genuinely shocked at how well Strowman has done over the last 6-12 months. Honestly felt he would struggle to get over when he first arrived for the Wyatt family but they've really done a brilliant job booking him and he's done a fantastic job taking the chances they've given him. One of the biggest dudes who is also agile in the ring, he's just nailing it right now, even cutting good promos. I really hope they don't mess it up and have him either lose to Reigns again (and I have nothing against Reigns like a lot do) or have Lesnar tear through him. Keep this guy strong because it's working ridiculously well right now. He looks great now, imagine how much higher he'd go if he went up against Lesnar and beat him?

Elsewhere, my fears that I spoke about on here the night after The Hardy's returned seem to be true. They've stripped away everything that made them (well, Matt in particular) great. They've stripped away almost all of the character development Matt had made to become one of the most interesting things in the business. They're now basically generic Hardy's. And the buzz is there right now, sure. But give it a few months like this and they'll be straight in the same boat as so many others teams where they're just another team in the mix with no real character development or no real reason to get excited. Some may not get or even like the Broken Matt stuff for how over the top it is but the reality is they're fecking up a great thing for absolutely no reason. It's bizarre. They've basically seen something that's got over and taken it so that nobody else can use/have it and then stripped away everything that made that thing great. Nostalgia is great and all while it lasts but I don't tune it on a weekly basis to watch a 1999 version of The Hardy's. Bring back the bizarre and over the top Broken stuff because people will eat it up.
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About Braun, I agree. He's coming on leaps and bounds

About the hardy's. I'd say patience. As much as we all enjoyed the whole Broken Hardies stuff, there are a few things to consider for now. 1: Legal stuff, which I think they are working on. And more importantly: It's a story that not a lot of the casuals know. Matt has been teasing and hinting, especially on Twitter and live events. Instead of just importing the broken character without explanation, I think they are building to him being rebroken in a way. Just like they did with Punk and the Summer of Punk II, repeating his ROH run.
 
Castia said:
I don't go along with your theory though, Reigns isn't in his current position by choice, this wasn't some mastermind McMahon creation, if it was upto Vince he'd be getting cheered every week ala Cena, it's just that the fans are having none of it. What gives it away is the commentary team when they say something like 'these wacky fans are cheering the bad guys and booing the good guys tonight! You don't usually see that'.

On top of that up until Mania they heavily dub the audio to drown out the RR boos, they finally acknowledge the fans don't like him but Vince being Vince is adamant on pushing his golden boy and that's the position we're in.

The fact that he's got completely no character is where the grey area comes in, he can't cut a promo either way face or heel because nobody wants to give him a minute in his current spot, WWE want him as a bass ass face but he can't pull it off and he gets bood every week but they won't pull the trigger on turning heel so he's in limbo, it's hilarious honestly.

The best thing RR did was fail his wellness policy test and lose a few matches following his return, that's the only thing I've enjoyed watching every time he's in and around the main event I lose all interest, his character, his look, his music, his move set everything about the guy is so mediocre it's unreal.
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And yet he sells and people make noise (either good or bad it doesn't matter, just so long as they make noise) whenever they see him. The guy is making money for Vince and that's all that matters. If everyone turned off or staid silent, then trust me he'd vanish. He's not in limbo. he's exactly where he's meant to be.
 
Mark_GrumpyLion said:
About Braun, I agree. He's coming on leaps and bounds

About the hardy's. I'd say patience. As much as we all enjoyed the whole Broken Hardies stuff, there are a few things to consider for now. 1: Legal stuff, which I think they are working on. And more importantly: It's a story that not a lot of the casuals know. Matt has been teasing and hinting, especially on Twitter and live events. Instead of just importing the broken character without explanation, I think they are building to him being rebroken in a way. Just like they did with Punk and the Summer of Punk II, repeating his ROH run.
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Always patient mate, will be happy to be wrong if it finally happens. Just saw Meltzer is saying they plan on using the Broken gimmick so maybe it'll end up happening after all.
 
You know that Braun's come on leaps and bounds when our local Toronto morning show mentions his match against the Big Show and the superplex that broke the ring.

I was worried about Braun almost ruining that as he was starting to lose his balance, but in the end, they somehow made it work, and my God, that was so good! I'm so happy to see Braun get set up the way he should be, and he should continue to build on from this and make a big push.

On top of that, this episode of Raw was actually surprisingly good, overall. I was feeling underwhelmed, initially, but when I look back at it, all of the matches were actually pretty good. The opening segment was really good, Jericho-Joe was a good match, the Fatal 4-way between the women was also surprisingly entertaining with Nia Jax actually having a good match, and the main event, of course, was the best of the lot.

After looking at that, I hope Smackdown also has a good episode, though after learning about the main event tonight, I fear the worst.
 
Castia said:
I don't go along with your theory though, Reigns isn't in his current position by choice, this wasn't some mastermind McMahon creation, if it was upto Vince he'd be getting cheered every week ala Cena, it's just that the fans are having none of it. What gives it away is the commentary team when they say something like 'these wacky fans are cheering the bad guys and booing the good guys tonight! You don't usually see that'.

On top of that up until Mania they heavily dub the audio to drown out the RR boos, they finally acknowledge the fans don't like him but Vince being Vince is adamant on pushing his golden boy and that's the position we're in.

The fact that he's got completely no character is where the grey area comes in, he can't cut a promo either way face or heel because nobody wants to give him a minute in his current spot, WWE want him as a bass ass face but he can't pull it off and he gets bood every week but they won't pull the trigger on turning heel so he's in limbo, it's hilarious honestly.

The best thing RR did was fail his wellness policy test and lose a few matches following his return, that's the only thing I've enjoyed watching every time he's in and around the main event I lose all interest, his character, his look, his music, his move set everything about the guy is so mediocre it's unreal.
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WWE have always done this, started one thing, fans reacted and the company reacted. From Austin cutting the 3:16 promo to heel Rocky Maivia to Super Cena. I doubt after Austin cut his promo on Jake the Snake, you thought he'd end up being the most over guy ever. Usually how wrestling characters go. WWE clearly had the "Super" Reigns going but fans reacted and so did the WWE. I'll admit took them long time as they did persist with it. But the last 12 months to think WWE don't have a clue on what is going on with Reigns and all these boos are to boo the company and not him is silly to me. How can anyone watch his promo on Raw getting booed for 15mins saying just those 5 words and walking away from that still think WWE still don't get it is beyond me.

The commentary team issue and audio tampering. I think that is subjective, people who hate Roman hear what they want to. I'll agree the cheer bad guys and boo good guys thing but they've mentioned many times the crowd response to him. Graves has mentioned he boos plenty of times. Same with the audio. I've not noticed it, I did during the Lesner feud that was obvious but recently I haven't. Maybe they do lower the boos audio and I haven't noticed but I think people go looking for that. Casual fans won't care.

He's got character if he didn't he would get booed this much, can't just blame that on "we boo the establishment for that". No he's not great on the mic but he's cut some good stuff. I'll agree it's a weak point but he's not completely useless at it. He's also not in limbo what is the point on turning him heel he ain't gonna get booed more then he is already. It's pointless just so some fans can then cheer him he's never gonna be more over then he is right now. Keep as is. I'll agree on his music and he does need to change his ring attire it is a little old now. However he has a great look for a wrestler I watched Mania with a few none wrestling fans. All thought Reigns looked a star and same in this thread a few casual fans popped in over Mania pointed that out.
 
Rosey (Roman's brother) just passed away. Only 47 :(
 
So that's Jinder's punishment for giving one of the top guys concussion..?! They sure showed him!

Seriously though - Has to be the worst WWE title contender since Jerry Lawler vs The Miz? Didn't R-Truth face Cena for the title at PPV once, as well?
 
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Worst Smackdown since the brand split. I didn't know the writers had switched during the superstar shakeup.
 
Jinder Mahal....meh. I get Smackdown is the 'land of opportunity' but that's just too much. Worst thing about this is Backlash isn't until the back end of May so we've got about 4-5 weeks of Jinder vs Orton promos to look forward too.

The whole schedule looks really bad on paper, Payback looks terrible (they dont even know what a house of horrors match is) followed up by backlash headlined by Jinder then we get Extreme Rules which is my worst ppv of the year, I cant stick a full night of gimmick matches.
 
Why have they arranged Randy's opponent for Backlash when he still has this match with Bray?

Have they actually addressed that? (I don't listen to Bray promos anymore and didn't catch SD) Or are they just admitting what we already know, that there is no way Bray is winning the title and this match is a complete waste of everybodys time?
 
Baron Corbin needs to do something with his hair, he looks like Filch from Harry Potter.
 
You have a match with Sami Zayn, Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler involved for a number 1 contendership and you go with Jinder fecking Mahal, who probably shouldn't have even been in a match like that. Sami and Harper have never had a WWE title programme and Jinder gets one before they do, it's absurd. He barely got a reaction when he came out, he is so boring and dull, the only reason I can think of why they want to push the guy is because he's jacked up. And he's going into a feud with Orton, who is pretty dull himself for several weeks. Baron Corbin should have been in this match and would have been a way better choice.

The title feuds also highlight just how little thought went into the draft and their utter incompetance.

Still Jinder fecking Mahal.
 
Orton just needed a jobber fued to extend his championship run until he drops it to AJ in 3-4 months time.
 
About time Jinder gets rewarded for being a true bodyguy.

TBH, whoever was going to win is going to lose anyway. It will be nice to see something different anyway. Lets see how it goes.
 
Given that the Bollywood Boys and Jinder have joined forces on top of the fact that Jinder got a #1 contender's opportunity, this is probably a way for the WWE to keep themselves relevant to the Indian market as well as continue to keep Orton over with the crowd. Having said that, I honestly don't mind Orton continuing his run as the champion as long as there's a worthy successor to him.
 
Shane88 said:
Jinder Mahal is the number 1 contender for the WWE title.

Jinder. Mahal.
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you mean... Hard Body Mahal

sewey89 said:
Why have they arranged Randy's opponent for Backlash when he still has this match with Bray?

Have they actually addressed that? (I don't listen to Bray promos anymore and didn't catch SD) Or are they just admitting what we already know, that there is no way Bray is winning the title and this match is a complete waste of everybodys time?
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On Wikipedia, it actually just says 'House Of Horrors' match and Bray hasn't mentioned the title in his recent promos, so I think it's non-title...

Still stupid having Tinder Mahal as the number one contender with Baron Corbin, Sammy Zaym, Luke Harper, Nakamura and even Ziggler not doing anything as well as AJ Styles going for the U.S. title... Jinder must have some dirt on Vince.
 
mazhar13 said:
Given that the Bollywood Boys and Jinder have joined forces on top of the fact that Jinder got a #1 contender's opportunity, this is probably a way for the WWE to keep themselves relevant to the Indian market as well as continue to keep Orton over with the crowd. Having said that, I honestly don't mind Orton continuing his run as the champion as long as there's a worthy successor to him.
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Reigns is also loved in India

4ddmYOA.jpg
 
Dirty Schwein said:
you mean... Hard Body Mahal


On Wikipedia, it actually just says 'House Of Horrors' match and Bray hasn't mentioned the title in his recent promos, so I think it's non-title...

Still stupid having Tinder Mahal as the number one contender with Baron Corbin, Sammy Zaym, Luke Harper, Nakamura and even Ziggler not doing anything as well as AJ Styles going for the U.S. title... Jinder must have some dirt on Vince.
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Possibly the case then! But I thought the whole point of the match was that it was Bray's rematch?

Seems even more stupid having the match if it's non-title.
 
Jinder isn't even close to be big in India. WWE is already huge and they don't need to cater to the Indian crowd.
 
KM said:
Jinder isn't even close to be big in India. WWE is already huge and they don't need to cater to the Indian crowd.
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Then the WWE's probably looking for a proper heel to have the title match against Orton instead of a heel that gets a hugely positive pop from the crowd.
 
mazhar13 said:
Then the WWE's probably looking for a proper heel to have the title match against Orton instead of a heel that gets a hugely positive pop from the crowd.
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The problem is that i genuinely can't remember Hinder Mahal ever winning a match and he gets this one win and straight to a title shot :lol:

I hope he wins though, bored of Orton, at least it would be fun seeing this idiot with the belt.
 
Jinder winning the title would be fantastic.

just to see the reaction of people.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The problem is that i genuinely can't remember Hinder Mahal ever winning a match and he gets this one win and straight to a title shot :lol:

I hope he wins though, bored of Orton, at least it would be fun seeing this idiot with the belt.
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The setup to this #1 contender's match was nonsencical.

The only ones who really looked like they deserved a title shot were Harper and Zayn, maybe Ziggler at a stretch. That would have been a great triple-threat match, but for some reason, they just had to put in Mojo, Mahal, and Rowan (understandable because of his Wyatt connection). A triple-threat match would have been really good, but this 6-pack match was chaotic until the end when there were good bits of action.

I feel like Orton having unfinished business with Bray is currently hurting the WWE Championship. Since the Orton-Bray rivalry hasn't finished, the WWE Championship has been put to the side, and Smackdown have seemed to use this give one of the superstars in the periphery a big push. Once Payback finishes, I think we'll see a clearer direction from Smackdown with regards to the WWE Championship.
 
Last night was probably the first time I saw Jinder's finisher, that's how infrequently he wins. Mojo would have been a better choice. I mean I would still bitch but at least he wouldn't be as bad Jinder.
 
None of it made any sense.

Jinder's been a jobber pretty much forever, and his last win on either Smackdown or RAW came in a handicap tag match back on 2nd January, when him and Rusev beat Big Cass. He'd also lost to Mojo Rawley last week, and had lost to Sami on RAW prior to the draft.

Erick Rowan's last singles victory was against Unknown Male Wrestler in a dark match at a Main Event taping last August, and has lost every match he's been in since his return.

Luke Harper lost to Bray, Randy and AJ in the run up to Wrestlemania, and has done nothing since, other than team up with Randy Orton to win a tag match. His inclusion only makes sense with the link to Orton, but he was teaming with him most recently as an ex-member of the Wyatt family.

Mojo Rawley was actually the only participant that made any remote bit of sense as far as I'm concerned, having just won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Memorial Giant Memorial Trophy, and having beaten both Jinder and Dolph in his last two singles matches.

Dolph Ziggler hasn't won a singles match since beating Apollo Crews in a chair match back in February, and has recently lost to Rawley.

Sami Zayn, as much as I love him, had just lost a #1 Contender's match for the secondary title, with his reward being an opportunity to go for the main title.

Meanwhile, AJ Styles, who won that match, is now stuck in a feud with Baron Corbin, who he also beat in that match, biding time to have a match for a title that no one really cares about.

Nakamura, who came in hot, has yet to actually wrestle on Smackdown. Tye Dillinger, who also came in hot, has actually picked up two wins on Smackdown, and is nowhere to be seen in regards to either title.
 
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